Mixed Drink
by steepedinshadows419
Summary: AU - Two strangers meet in a bar. One spells danger, the other, desperation. Barry/Iris. Multi-Chap. [25 Days of Westallen Fanfiction: Day 12 and 13]
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Written for Day 12 of my _25 Days of Westallen Fanfiction_ event.

 ***** Many thanks to **sendtherain** for beta'ing.

 ***** I own nothing. No copyright infringement intended.

* * *

 **Chapter 1 -**

She twirled the small straw in her drink, wondering how she'd wound up in this bar again after two weeks of solemnly swearing she would never return. When the green olive slipped down the straw with a plop, splattering some of the alcohol onto her hand, she realized she would always know the answer to that question. She sighed and stuck the olive back onto the tiny straw, lifting it to her lips to swallow it whole. Her luck being what it was, the olive slipped off the straw again before it reached her lips and tumbled onto the floor, leaving a wet trail down her uncovered arm and a dark spot on her cotton dress before settling on the tile next to her stool.

"Need another?" the bar tender asked, suddenly before her. He'd either witnessed the event or assumed she'd eaten it while he was otherwise occupied. Not that he could have been. The place was dead tonight.

 _Of course it's dead, Iris. You know the nights it's busy and the nights it isn't, and you didn't want to get hit on tonight. It's not flattering anymore. It's annoying._

She shook her head at the bartender.

"No. Thanks."

He pursed his lips and nodded, slipping away to the other end of the bar to make sure his inventory was where it needed to be. He knew her, and he knew she wasn't intending to be rude with her bark. She just needed to be left alone. That's why she came tonight. She needed to forget too. That's why she was on her third glass of vodka and annoyed that she was holding her liquor so well.

 _Maybe you should go home, Iris. Oh, wait. You don't have a home to go back to. You have no family in town – not that they'd take you in anyway. You're the black sheep. And your roommate just kicked you out, threatened to call her big, buff brother who can't stand you if you were so much as spotted out the front window. Oh, and you're broke so you can't afford a hotel room._

She thought about asking how late the dim-lit bar was open, but there was no point.

1 a.m. It was nearly midnight.

Carelessly tossing the miniature straw to the side, Iris lifted her glass to her lips and swallowed a good portion of it down. Another drink wasn't happening tonight. She had just enough money in her wallet for the three.

She could ask the bartender if he could put her up for the night. He was a solid guy who wouldn't take advantage of her and she presumed he had a couch.

But she didn't want him to get comfortable with her being in his space. It was one thing to spill all your troubles to a handsome stranger behind a bar. It was quite another to sleep on his couch because said troubles had left you without a home.

Her ears pricked at the sound of the door to the bar opening and closing. It was a distinct sound accompanied by a rush of wind. December was cruel to Central City. But the chill faded when the door shut with a soft whoosh. She thought about turning around to see who it was but decided to wish whoever it was away. At the very least they could take whatever beverage they'd came for and sit at a table on the far side of the room. If they had the decency to do that she might not lash out.

She didn't usually lash out, but tonight the only guy she didn't hate was the bartender, and that was only because he was twenty-eight and looked fifteen. She couldn't wound him any more than she could the brother who wouldn't speak to her.

"Brandy," the stranger said, a sexy rasp to his voice Iris couldn't help but notice as his long coat brushed her backside when he came to sit behind her.

She was annoyed, for sure, but she was also intrigued. She didn't lash out, and at one point she even moved a little bit closer.

The stranger turned to her when their elbows brushed. She could feel him checking her out without even looking at him, but he didn't speak to her, and after a moment he was focused on the drink placed in front of him.

"Thanks," he said to the bartender, who nodded when he handed over the cash required. "Keep the change," he added, and Iris couldn't help but snort. She hadn't meant to do that out loud, but apparently she just couldn't help herself.

"Very charitable of you," she mumbled into her drink when he did nothing but stare at her.

"I don't think we've met."

She turned to look at him, ignoring the pooling heat forming between her legs.

"We haven't."

"I'm Barry."

She said nothing, only took another sip of her drink.

"And you are?"

When she continued to say nothing, the bartender surprisingly stepped in.

"She's Iris," he paused a beat before adding. "And a regular."

Iris glared at him, feeling betrayed and annoyed. It wasn't the end of the world to pass on her real name, but the second bit hurt. She didn't appreciate the reminder.

The bartender shrugged before moving away. She couldn't stay mad even if she tried, but the fact that she was attracted to the handsome, new stranger made the public of her habits feel just shy of humiliating.

"Iris," the stranger said, speaking the word as if he were tasting it on his tongue. "That's a pretty name." He tipped some of his drink into his mouth, savoring it.

"Is brandy your poison?" she reluctantly asked, trying to suppress her curiosity.

"Is Vodka yours?" he countered, raising an eyebrow.

 _God, his eyes are gorgeous._

"It's a bad habit."

He smirked.

 _Damn it._

"Habits are hard to break."

"Easy to form though," she said, turning towards him, pushing her elbow to the ledge so her cleavage was enhanced. She didn't look away when he looked down at it.

"You looking to form a new one tonight?" he asked huskily, and she knew right then she was going to seduce him. He wasn't even making it hard.

She leaned in oh so very close.

"Depends." She checked him out, liking what she saw. "Is the handsome, new stranger up for it?"

Heat flowed off him in waves, concentrated in her direction from the direct line of his coat collar to the deep cut of her dress. One minute they were having eye sex, the next they were in the unisex bathroom having real sex on the sink and the toilet and against the wall, and when they finished, both half-dressed and panting on the floor, the stranger turned to look at her.

"My bed is a lot more comfortable than this floor."

Iris had just started to think how she should've invited herself to his place before their clothes started coming off, but luckily, he had done it for her. The sultry, sexy stranger was likely a romantic at heart. Not that it mattered after tonight.

She got to her feet, dressing as she did so, and then looked down at him pointedly.

"Then lead the way, stranger," she ordered. "But maybe get dressed first. I hear it's a bit chilly outside."

He smirked but did as she said. The door swung open by his hand in no time.

"After you, Miss West."

She halted halfway out the door when she did that.

"You know me," she said.

He shrugged, and she narrowed her eyebrows.

"How do you know me?" she demanded.

He pulled a small card out of his pocket, and when he handed it to her, she saw it was his wallet. Her eyes widened when she looked back up at him.

"You're a _thief_."

"I did some time for some petty thieving back when I was sixteen. I haven't stolen since." He smiled slowly. "Well, until tonight."

She tensed.

"Still want to come home with me?"

She debated her options – go home with a criminal or freeze to death on the bench outside the door.

She was going to regret this, and she knew it.

"How much time?" she asked warily.

He raised his eyebrows, amused.

"One night in a jail cell."

Her eyes narrowed.

"What did you steal?"

"A necklace for my dying mother."

She analyzed him, trying to gauge if he was telling the truth. She supposed it didn't matter, since all she needed was one night indoors.

"Does it matter if I'm telling the truth?" he asked, reading her mind.

She met his eyes, more alarmed than ever.

"Do you have a couch to sleep on?"

"Nope." Her jaw dropped. "Just one very large, very comfortable bed." He paused. "And a landline phone if you decide you need to call 9-1-1."

"I have my own phone, thank you very mu-" She lost her voice as he pulled her phone out of his pocket and then held it out to her.

She snatched it back, unnerved.

"Is there anything you didn't steal?" she barked.

He laughed. "Your dignity?" She fumed. "Pretty sure you gave that away all on your own."

"I don't have to listen to this." She strutted away, furious and a little scared.

"Iris-" the bartender tried, but she ignored him, quickly slipping on her coat and heading straight for the door.

The handsome new stranger-slash-freak of nature-slash-criminal was close at her heels, and he closed in around her just before she could reach for the door. He lowered his lips to whisper in her ear, igniting all her senses.

"Everything I took from you I gave back. How's that for redemption?"

She didn't care. She wanted away from him _now_.

"You need a place to stay, don't you?" he teased, letting his hand slide down the side of her body.

"You son of a-"

"Is everything okay?" The bartender started to come out from behind the bar.

"Everything's fine," the stranger said, pulling his hand away. He glanced over his shoulder. "She just needs a place to stay for the night, and she'd rather not stay with a stranger. Can you help her?"

"Oh, yeah, of course." He came towards them and the stranger backed away, so he didn't look quite so dangerous. "You can crash on my couch upstairs, Iris. I have some spare blankets and pillows you can use."

She sighed inwardly and agreed with the voice in her head that said she better take this option _now_ , even if it hadn't been ideal before.

"Thanks, Teddy, that'd be great."

He smiled, reassuringly, then looked back at the stranger.

"Will you be staying for a while, Sir?"

 _No, no, no, no. Please, God, no._

The stranger smiled both at Teddy and then at Iris.

"No, I think I've had enough fun for one evening." He leaned in close to Iris' ear and whispered, "Good night, Iris."

Then he had walked around her and was out the door, and her breath was stolen from her.

"Are you sure you're okay, Iris?" Teddy asked, clearly worried for her.

"Yeah, Teddy, I'm fi-"

"He didn't do anything to you, did he?" he asked, surprising her by how protective he sounded suddenly.

She smiled serenely. "Nothing that I didn't want him to do," she said, which made him blush.

As she walked past him back into the bar, she knew it was the truth. Even with the bomb of him doing time and stealing vital things right under her nose, which should and definitely _did_ scare her, in the moment she felt a thrill.

Unlike most girls, she'd never been particularly drawn to the bad boys. But thinking back on their encounter, she now understood the appeal. She bit her bottom lip as she slid herself back onto the stool _he_ 'd abandoned. The warmth had long dissipated, but the memory kept her feeling hot.

"Do you need another drink, Iris?" Teddy ventured. "It'll be on me."

She met his eyes and tried to suppress the suggestive grin summoned from her memories.

"No thanks, Teddy," she said politely. Then a sultry smirk emerged despite herself. "But I will take an olive."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Written for Day 13 of my _25 Days of Westallen Fanfiction_ event.

 ***** Many thanks to sendtherain for beta'ing.

 ***** I own nothing. No copyright infringement intended.

* * *

 **Chapter 2 -**

When Iris woke up the next morning, she could hear the low buzz of soft snoring coming from down the hall and the distinct dripping from a sink not all the way shut off from either the bathroom or the sink. The sound had been easy enough to tune out when she was too drunk to care but waking up with a major hangover including a migraine the size of Alaska made it impossible to ignore.

"Shut up," she grumbled. When it continued, she tossed the small pillow she'd been given in the general direction of the sound. "Shut up!"

The snoring abruptly stopped, and she groaned, aware of what it meant. The sound of rustling sheets and drawers being opened and shut told her the friendly neighborhood bartender – and her host for the evening – had been woken up in the midst of her cries.

"Iris?" came the raspy voice, and she fell back onto the couch. "Is everything all right?"

She sighed and gestured to the sink. His brows furrowed, but apparently it registered what she was referring to because soon enough he was across the room and shutting off the sink all the way until the water stopped dripping and the sound stopped.

"Oh, _Heaven_." She smiled blissfully, her eyes sliding shut.

"It probably would be good for you to drink some water though," Teddy said, turning on the faucet again and filling a gup. Iris grimaced at the sound but relaxed when it had been shut off again.

Then he was in front of her, holding the half-full glass for her to take, and she was obliged to open her eyes and drink some of the beverage.

"Mmm. Tasty."

"It's water."

She blinked, then her eyes narrowed.

"Maybe I should whip something up for you," he said, returning to the kitchen.

She snorted and set the glass of water on the coffee table she'd run into more than once when they first entered his little apartment.

"It's a little too early for alcohol, Theodore," she mocked. "Even for me."

Unthwarted, Teddy pulled out some ingredients.

"Not alcohol, Iris. A hangover cure."

She propped her elbow on the top of the couch and turned to look at him, her head resting in her hand.

"I'm listening."

"Well, I won't tell you what's in it," he said. "Then you won't drink it. But trust me, I know what I'm doing. This will cure that throbbing pain and inevitable puking like nothing you'd ever tried before."

Just the mention of puking made her want to gag, but Iris grabbed the glass of water and downed it instead, hoping it would keep the bile at bay.

"Did they teach you all this in bartending school?" she asked, amused.

To that he smirked and brought the newly mixed drink over to her.

"No, this I learned from being a college student."

She didn't want to think about how young that made him compared to her, if he'd graduated yet or not. So she took the drink and take several long sips, telling herself to not imagine what could be in it.

"You can stay as long as you want," he said, taking her empty glass from the table with him back to the kitchen. "But I have to leave. If you're still here when I get back, we can get something to eat."

Iris set the glass down. She watched him for a while, trying to figure out his motive.

"Why are you doing this, Teddy?" she finally asked. "You hardly know me."

He put the glass away and pulled out some milk and cereal.

"That's not true at all, and you know it." He continued when she tried to interject. "You come in three times a week and pour out your troubles to me as I pour you glass after glass, as long as you'll pay for it and you can walk straight enough to make it to the door. Whether you remember it or not, I know just about everything about you except where you used to live and where you work."

"Worked," she muttered under her breath.

His brows furrowed, and she realized she must've not gotten drunk enough to tell him.

"Want to talk about it?" he asked, pouring the milk into his bowl of cereal.

She sighed. "Teddy."

"Look, I know I'm just a bartender to you, but you're not just another customer to me. I care about you. I don't want to see anything bad happen to you. In a lot of ways…you remind me of my sister."

She rolled her eyes. _Oh, great._

With some willpower, she forced herself to her feet, wobbling a little. Teddy halted what he was doing to focus entirely on her.

"Listen, Teddy, I appreciate what you've done for me, what you do for me on a pretty regular basis. I'm glad for the couch and the hangover cure, but I'm not gonna be your charity case."

"Iris, you're not."

She held her hand up to silence him.

"Now, I'm gonna go into the bathroom and freshen up, and then I'm going to leave. I might be back at the bar tonight or in a few days or never again, but I don't want you to be worrying about me, okay? I'll be fine. Just…focus on your classes. Be a good college student and graduate on time."

He looked conflicted, but he apparently couldn't think of anything to say before Iris left him spellbound as she walked into the bathroom and the glorious hot, steaming water of the half-decent shower.

She heard the front door close before she got out of the bathroom, and told herself to be grateful, but alone in the apartment, drying her hair on a hopefully clean towel, Iris felt very distinctly alone.

She shook the feeling off though and went to retrieve her phone. Beneath it was a piece of paper with Teddy's number and a message to call him if she ever needed anything – the 'anything' being underlined twice.

"Thanks, but no thanks," she muttered but stuffed the piece of paper into her coat pocket anyway. He'd probably try to track her down if there was any evidence that she hadn't taken his advice when he returned.

 _Nice excuse, Iris._

She headed straight for the door and locked it behind her, determined to forget the night before just as she had so many others. When she stepped into the hall though, her phone started to buzz.

Her brows furrowed as she dug into her pocket to see who was trying to get a hold of her. She couldn't think of anybody who cared a damn about her other than Teddy after last night.

Her jaw dropped when she saw the name spread across her screen.

 **Handsome Stranger.**

"No way."

She opened the text and saw the message sprawled across.

 **Good morning, Beautiful.**

"He has some nerve," she muttered, then rapidly returned the nonchalant greeting.

 ** _Who the hell is this?_**

 **Do you always wake up this way or do I get special treatment?**

She fumed.

 ** _Wrong number_** **.**

 **I'll be at the coffee shop on 8** **th** **Street and Dilbourn. Meet me in 15 minutes. I'm buying**.

She wasn't going to do it.

She _wasn't_ going to do it.

Her stomach grumbled beneath her rumpled dress, and she knew her willpower just wasn't strong enough this morning.

 _Damn it_.

…

Barry smirked when she walked into the shop, unable contain himself when his eyes traveled down her figure, taking in the clothes he'd stripped off her in the bar's bathroom the night before.

It was definitely her.

He waited a while before getting her attention, thoroughly enjoying the way she huffed on her way to him. He didn't stand up to greet her. He only sat there, a big grin on his face, his hands folded in his lap as she glared down at him.

"Well?" he asked innocently. "What will it be?"

She was silent a few moments more and then listed off a very detailed, very fancy drink, a couple pastries, and a breakfast sandwich.

"You're lucky they have variety," he said, amused as he stood to his feet.

"I've been here before," she said, tossing her hair over his shoulder.

He said nothing, only continued to grin as he moved past her and went to the counter to put in the order.

He turned his back to the counter and leaned against it after he'd made the order and paid for it. He watched her sit there, looking tense as ever and the complete opposite of how she'd been when he'd first seen her. Last night she had looked annoyed with life and annoyed with him, but that had morphed into a sexiness that radiated off her the moment she decided to seduce him.

It wasn't an unusual occurrence – women trying to lure him in for a quick shag in the nearest secluded location. Though her reasoning clearly went beyond the physical. She'd had nothing but her driver's license and her phone on her when he quickly sifted through her belongings. So either she didn't go around carrying much, or she had quite possibly hit rock bottom and needed a place to stay for the night. He'd assumed the latter and he'd been right.

"Barry?"

The sound of his own name behind him alerted him to the order being ready. He lazily turned around, grabbed the purchased items and shot the cashier a thousand-watt smile and a thank you before returning to the table.

"As requested," he said, setting the items before her.

She opened the bag and eyed everything meticulously, obviously trying to decide if she should tell him everything was wrong and make him re-purchase what she had _actually_ wanted.

She looked up at him and waited.

"All good?"

She sniffed airily, as if to show she was too good for him. He tried hard not to laugh.

"It'll do," she said, and then lost no time inhaling the food while she waited for her coffee to cool.

He didn't comment on how clearly hungry she was, only took the seat across from her and watched her as she ate, occasionally glancing out the window to watch the people walking on the sidewalk and across the street. Her moans of satisfaction from the consumed food reminded him of the moans he'd elicited from her when he fucked her into the dingy tiles in the bar's bathroom, and he shifted slightly to control his hard-on.

"So," she saved finally, taking a sip of her drink after her food had been thoroughly devoured. "Why the invitation? What made you decide to feed me?"

He met her eyes, still amused at her behavior.

"You seemed like you needed it."

She eyed him suspiciously.

"Why'd you meet me?" He leaned forward. "Weren't you scared I might steal something from you again?"

"I was hungry," she returned.

"And hunger overrides safety is that it? The promise of food is too tempting to ignore?" he teased.

She folded her arms.

"You already stole everything you wanted last night, and you gave it back, so it must be useless to you."

He smirked and slowly rubbed his foot against her calf under the table.

"Not _everything_ was useless."

 _Incredible_ , he thought, when it took her a full ten seconds to pull away from him and stand to her feet.

"What do you think you're doing?" she demanded.

"Feeding you, I thought."

"Don't ignore what just happened. I'm not a complete idiot."

He looked up at her innocently. "You think I'm trying to seduce you?"

"I know the tricks. You're not subtle."

He stood to his feet.

"Neither are you."

They stood staring at each other, the tension building until he was certain either one of two things was going to happen. She would either huff and walk out of there, possibly deleting his number from her phone and blocking him. Or she'd jump him, and he'd be grateful once again that there weren't too many customers using the unisex bathroom in the coffee shop.

The click of the lock behind them and the drop of her coat on another dirty, tile floor were nothing compared to the taste of coffee on her tongue as she pulled him down to her with a reckless, passionate kiss.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** This story is so fun to write. :)

 ***** Many thanks to **sendtherain** for beta'ing.

 ***** I own nothing. No copyright infringement intended.

* * *

 **Chapter 3 -**

She watched as he dressed himself, biting her bottom lip before the last of his ass disappeared beneath his pants. Despite her best efforts, despite everything screaming inside her that she could not afford one more bad decision, she'd gone and slept with a criminal not once, but twice – and the second time she'd known he had a bit of a record. She restrained a sigh and focused on the present. She'd worry about the implications of this in the future later. After all, she was very good at beating herself up. The only thing that would truly annoy her was the look Teddy would give her the second she walked into the bar later on, which was inevitable at this point.

"Like what you see?" Barry teased, zipping up his pants and facing her after he'd slipped his head and arms back through his shirt.

Iris flushed, feeling a tingle between her folds just from the sound of his voice. _Curse him_. Low and velvet and the perfect drawl, it was completely her undoing.

"So, what are your plans for the rest of the day?" he asked casually, coming to stand beside her so he could check his appearance in the mirror.

Her eyebrows narrowed, and she remembered exactly why she didn't take a liking to him when he wasn't gazing lustfully at her or standing before her naked or kissing her or…

"No." She stopped her mind from wandering into recent memories.

"No?" he asked, amused. "No, you don't have plans or no, you won't tell me what they are?" She opened her mouth to answer, but he interrupted. "Or no, you don't know what your plans are because your future is a mess and you'd prefer I fuck you through Sunday to make you forget about just how far down you've fallen in your life?"

 _Well…_

"Asshole," she whispered harshly instead, though she certainly wouldn't mind a few more orgasms to get her mind off her disastrous present; especially the kind he gave her, because _damn_.

"Just a question," he said innocently, straightening out his shirt and then glancing at her. She still looked angry. "So, what's the answer?"

"The answer is none of your business," she spat.

"I bet I could get it out of you in bed," he whispered seductively, leaning towards her. She ignored the delicious shivers ripping up her spine.

"You are unbelievable!" She pushed past him and out the door, ignoring his lingering stare on her backside.

Relieved and disappointed that she'd successfully gotten rid of him once she was a block away, Iris realized – regretfully – that she'd left her phone at the coffee shop.

 _Or maybe he'd stolen it_ , she thought bitterly. After all, it wouldn't be the first time.

She stopped, turned around and found herself staring at him just outside the shop, waving her phone in his hand.

 _Ugh_. She hated herself. _How could one person possibly be this much of a mess?_

Reluctantly, she trudged forward and tried to snatch the phone out of his hand, but he used her impatience to wrap his fingers around her hand, and for a moment she truly thought he was going to dance with her. Here, in the middle of the sidewalk outside one of her favorite coffee shops.

"Let go," she demanded, trying to yank her hand free – and the phone with it.

"Mmm, not really feeling it, actually."

She huffed and gave up the fight, grinding her teeth. "Why. Not?"

"Let's just say…" He took the tiniest of steps closer. "I don't want to let you out of my sight just yet."

She raised her eyebrows, appearing amused even though her heart was racing.

"You're just one bad –" He raised his eyebrows. "Two bad decisions," she clarified. "Both of which I'm done with. So, if you don't mind?"

He relented – amazingly – and she nearly fell back as the lack of resistance left her a bit unbalanced. He caught her, of course. And the warmth of his arm around her waist nearly made her lose her breath.

 _Damn_ , she wished she hadn't burned so many bridges. It would be so good to confide in her roommate about this…this guy that set her on fire the way no other man had.

"T-Thank you," she said, standing evenly on her feet after he'd let go of her.

"I know a way you can thank me," he said.

"No," she immediately retorted.

"Calm down," he placated, despite the return of her narrowed eyebrows. "Maybe I just want to show you around."

"Aren't you new to town?"

"Aren't you so absorbed in all your problems that you haven't really taken the time to see what Central City has to offer?"

She blinked.

"I'll take that as a yes." He whistled for a cab, which came to a stop right beside them.

"Wait, Barry, no-"

He opened the door for her.

"Oh, look, you remembered my name."

With a sigh and a glance and a brief complaint from the cab driver, Iris reluctantly slid into the backseat.

Barry wasn't even touching her, but she could feel the heat rising off his pant leg and wondered how in the world she was going to survive even an hour without jumping him again.

He caught her gaze at just the right time – when she was licking her lips and eyeing his crotch – and smiled slowly.

"Plenty of time for that," he said, making her go wide-eyed and turn away.

"Where to?" the cabbie asked, now a good way into the next block.

"Jitters."

She frowned. " _Another_ coffee shop?"

"You know it?" he asked, intrigued.

"I worked there in high school and college. Paid my tuition with those paychecks."

"Time well spent, then."

She thought back on when her boyfriend of three years had dumped her in front of a room full of customers who had gone quiet, and how every job she'd used her major for had ended in her voluntarily leaving or getting fired.

She said nothing.

"It's not about the coffee shop," he whispered, leaning close. "It's about what's above it."

"Offices?" she guessed half-heartedly.

"The roof."

A vision of the two of them standing wrapped in each other's arms, gazing out at the view of the city flashed before her eyes. She felt butterflies exploding inside her, not to mention her panties dampening again.

"Oh," she said – and made a point of looking out the opposite window until they got there.

She could feel him smiling from his side of the car, but no amount of money in the world would get her to indulge his twisted humor.

"Are you staying with Theodore again tonight?" he asked innocently when they were a block away from Jitters.

Her mouth fell open. _Was he jealous?_

"I- N- Maybe." She abandoned truth for lie. He deserved to feel conflicted after all he'd done to her.

The cab came to a stop, and Barry paid the driver before getting out and rounding the vehicle to help her out of the car. She thought of snatching her hand away and declaring her independence but decided that if he wanted to be gentlemanly, then why the hell should she deny him?

"You won't want to by the time I'm done with you," he said, as he guided her into Jitters.

She looked amused. "Because of all the sex?"

He smirked. "Because of the view."

She didn't understand what he meant by that, but one thing she was certain of: in all her years working at Jitters, she sincerely regretted never coming up to the roof.

It was absolutely breathtaking.

…

Iris leaned her elbows back against the stone wall, staring out at the city once more before meeting Barry's mysterious gaze.

"So, what's the occasion?" she asked.

He had the nerve to look confused. "What do you mean?"

"Well." She pushed herself off the wall and started coming towards him. "Sex twice-"

" _Consensual_ sex," he corrected.

"Consensual," she allowed before continuing. "Tracking me down for breakfast-"

" _Inviting_ you to breakfast."

"A _free_ breakfast."

He smirked. "A free one."

"And now a ride across town to see one of the best views in the city. What's your game, ex-con Barry?"

His eyes narrowed in a sudden, unexpected spurt of anger before it dissolved.

"No game. Just wanted to show a pretty girl a good time." He smirked again.

"Oh, yeah, just that," she said, amused. "Except this pretty girl is broke, homeless, unemployed, and an alcoholic."

"We all have our baggage."

She eyed him suspiciously. "What's yours?"

"Ah-ah-ah, you don't know me well enough to get that information."

She'd stopped, so came to meet her halfway.

"You mean, there's something other than stealing in your checkered past."

He said nothing, but cupped her face with one hand, then leaned down and kissed her. It didn't escalate. It was sweet. And Iris hummed contently when it was over before opening her eyes into his.

"You're beautiful, Iris West," he whispered softly.

She sighed aloud despite herself. God, how she wished this was real. She had nothing going for her, but to have a charming stranger giving her his undivided attention in the best way would be a great thing to hold onto.

Still, reality was hammering away in the back of the mind, reminding her of everything she'd lost and that she'd probably lose this too if she fought too hard to hang onto it.

"When are you leaving town?"

He raised his eyebrows. "What makes you think I'm leaving?"

Her heart leapt into her throat, but she forcefully shoved it back down.

"Just a feeling."

He stared at her for a while before answering.

"At the end of the week."

She took a step back and returned to the wall, trying to get her bearings.

"I'm an idiot," she muttered under her breath.

"I'll be back next month, though," he said, coming up behind her. She refused to look at him as he lowered his lips to her ear and kissed the top of the shell. "And the month after that. And the month after that. And the month after that…"

"On business?" she asked, weakening from his touch.

"Something like that."

She turned around and found herself immediately in his embrace, his hands lightly gripping her waist.

"You like me, Barry?"

"Oh, yeah." He smirked. "From the moment I saw you."

She hesitated. "What is it…that you do exactly? What are you in town for?"

"Mm…can't tell you that. It's classified."

She frowned.

"I can tell you it's legal, though."

She was doubtful, but the small fire lighting in her said maybe he was telling the truth.

"Can I trust you?"

"Absolutely."

She sighed. "Can you tell me _anything_ about yourself?"

"Hmmm," he contemplated, drumming some of his fingers on her back. Then his eyes lit up. "I know."

"What?" she searched his eyes, hating the thrill that was pumping through her.

"I've got a hotel room at the tallest building in the city."

She rolled her eyes. _Thinking about sex again, I see_.

"The Charlton," she acknowledged.

"Mhmm." He began smoothing his hands over her lower back.

"What about it?" she asked, ignoring the excitement speeding down her spine and the implications of this entire conversation.

"It's got an even better view than this one."

"Of what? A bed?"

He chuckled, sounding sexier than ever.

"Sassy. But no. Of the city." He could see the suspicion on her face refusing to remove itself. "It's truly spectacular…" he teased, leaning forward.

"What's your last name?" she asked, just before his lips brushed hers.

"Allen," he said, surprising her by actually answering with something believable. "Bartholomew Henry Allen."

"Bar _what_?"

But he kissed her, silencing the predictable question.

"If you come with me now, I'll even let you google me."

She was dumbfounded as he started to pull her towards the stairs in the center of the roof.

"Where are we going?"

"Shopping," he said, sounding so chipper. Under other circumstances, Iris would have fought to suppress a giggle.

"Shopping? What do you need?"

"Not me. You. You're going to need a fancy gown for the gala we're going to tonight."

She came to a sudden stop. "The what?"

He turned around. "It's for my job. The reason I'm in town this week."

She blinked.

"Come on," he tugged her hand, and reluctantly she started walking again. "I don't know a single female who doesn't like getting a new dress for free."

 _For_ _ **free**_ _?_

A smile tugged at her lips, because, well… Why the hell not?


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** A second chapter right away b/c of the popular demand for it on tumblr. Prepare to be dazzled. ;)

 ***** Many thanks to **sendtherain** for beta'ing.

 ***** I own nothing. No copyright infringement intended.

* * *

 **Chapter 4 -**

Iris' jaw nearly hit the floor when the room beyond the cold metal doors came into view.

"How did you-" She turned to look at Barry, mouth still hanging open, and then promptly shut it. "I thought you were new to the city."

"I am."

"Hardly anyone knows about this place. Most people order online and get it delivered to them by UPS. This is like…a warehouse." She looked around the glittering room. "A very gorgeous, clean, modern warehouse."

"I may have done some research."

" _When_?" she demanded, eyes narrowed.

He held out his bent arm to her.

"Does it matter?"

She told herself that yes, it _did_ matter, a _lot_. But he was acting so charming and gentlemanly – and hadn't hinted at sex for the last ten minutes – that she found herself dismissing it for the time being. Especially in a store as dazzling as this one.

Barry smiled smugly, which made her roll her eyes, but still she allowed him to guide her to the formal dress section. She stopped immediately when she got there, and her mouth fell open again. Everything she could see was stunning – absolutely stunning.

"You sure you want to pay for something here?" she blurted out. Because these clothes had to be more expensive than anything she'd ever owned in her life.

This time his smile was tender as he looked at her.

"Absolutely."

Hesitant to take another step forward, Barry nudged her gently to loosen her up before tugging her in the direction of the most expensive dresses.

"Come on, Iris. It's on my dime, and I can afford it. Live a little."

She blew some locks out of her face.

 _What in the_ _ **world**_ _does this guy do for a living?_

A woman stepped forward out of the dressing room along the far wall.

"Mr. Allen," she greeted warmly, and Iris immediately bristled. She couldn't figure out why until it hit her moments later that the woman was swaying her hips more than was necessary as she led them to the dresses Barry had apparently picked out ahead of time.

 _Oh, God. Am I possessive of him already? Jealous,_ _ **already**_ _?_

"Here, try this one on," Barry suggested after the woman had left.

It was a long, form-hugging silk one in a pretty silver color, with straps hanging lightly off the shoulders and a diamond clasp in the center of the top hem of the dress.

"I've got a few more when you're done. We can always look for more if you're not sure of any of them. Once you've gotten a dress you love, we'll move on to the shoes and shawls. It'll be a little chilly at the gala tonight with the air conditioning on."

Shaking her head, she took the dress and headed for the dressing room. She stopped suddenly when a thought occurred to her. She spun halfway around and opened her mouth to speak, but he beat her to the punch.

"And jewelry and make-up, and an updo that will make every woman there envious of the goddess on my arm."

Heat flooded her face, so she turned around and began walking towards the dressing room again to avoid him seeing just how flustered she was by his comments.

Compliments, rather.

"He sure knows how to make a girl blush," she muttered to herself once behind closed doors.

She took a couple deep breaths and waited till her racing heartbeat slowed back to a normal pace. Then she looked at herself in the center mirror and pressed the dress lightly against her front to see how it might look.

 _It is pretty_ , she thought to herself.

She thought too of the look in Barry's eyes once he saw her in this dress. Lustful, no doubt, but honestly, she was starting to miss that. No man had ever looked at her quite like he had. And he hadn't even been the one doing the seducing. Nope, that had been all her.

How desperate she must've looked, jumping on him like that, caving to her desire so quickly. Her circumstances were pretty dire at the moment. What must he think of her?

The possibilities gnawed at her, making her feel small and insecure, until a knock sounded at the door.

"Yes?" she asked, trying to sound as normal as possible.

"You need any help in there?" his sexy voice answered, and she melted on the spot.

"No, I, uh, think I can handle it on my own."

"You _sure_?" he teased, drawing the word out. "I'm pretty good with my hands."

She laughed. "No arguing that."

The knob started to turn on the door, and she promptly stopped it.

"I said I can handle it."

He sighed loudly.

"Now go sit down. I'll let you know if I need any 'help'."

"Fine," he said on another sigh and walked over to the chairs by the doorway.

After a couple minutes of struggling to get the dress zipped up, and absolutely refusing to ask Barry for help – because then she'd never get past the first dress – she turned the knob herself and came into view, smirking the second Barry caught sight of her.

He got to his feet, shutting his mouth the second he caught her staring at him in amusement. But damn if she wasn't the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen.

"Is this the one?" she asked, turning around to reveal the low cut with the short zipper.

 _So easy to unzip_. She smiled to herself when she faced away.

"It damn well could be," he admitted, unable to take his eyes off her. Then, somehow, he shook himself out of it. "But you should try on _all_ the dresses," he said, determined to get a hold of himself. "Before I rip this one off of you," he said quietly, huskily, hungrily.

Iris could only nod in response. "O-Okay."

She walked passed him to try on the other dresses, but in the end it was a sparkling bronze number that tied around the back of her neck, enhancing her cleavage and sporting a slit up to the middle of her thigh, that he inwardly begged for her to like best.

She sighed, faking uncertainty as she looked at herself in the mirror and caught his drooling expression behind her.

"I just…I don't know…"

" _Iris_ ," he rasped, and she turned around and burst into a fit of giggles.

"Oh, yeah," she said, her eyes darkening. "It's the one."

…

No sooner had the door opened than Iris found herself drawn to the far side of the room with her hands pressed against the glass.

"I told you it was a good view," he said, smirking as he shut the door behind them.

He walked over to the closet to hang Iris' dress beside his tux and placed her other items of choice around them accordingly. Then he joined Iris at the window.

"I've never been up here."

"Really?" he asked, apparently surprised. "Not even for one of your stories?"

She looked over at him, stunned. Though in hindsight she knew she shouldn't have been. After a moment, she relaxed and raised one eyebrow.

"You did do your homework."

He shrugged, then his own shoulders relaxed.

 _Why_ , she wondered, _was he suddenly nervous that he might scare her off?_

"Part of the job description," he said.

Her eyebrows narrowed.

"A job you won't tell me anything about," she reminded him.

He tsk'd at her, then let a gentle smile spread across his face.

"A man is more than his job, Iris. Just like you're more than yours."

"Is that your way of saying this isn't a pity date?"

"Who said this was a date?" he teased, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her in close.

Her mouth went dry.

He lowered his face, so his nose brushed against hers, and whispered, "Yes," against her skin.

Iris' arms snaked up around his neck as she murmured something unintelligible. Then, arching up onto her tiptoes, she kissed him.

It was just three Barry-sized steps to the bed.

…

When they walked into the ballroom at 7 o'clock that night – after an afternoon of room service, massages, and love-making - Barry and Iris were not only dazzled with the room before them, but also with each other.

It was hard for Iris to remember how opposed she'd been to this man only that morning. He was probably fooling her, being the player he'd likely been his whole life, and here she was telling herself that there could be no other girls if she saw none. She'd even deliberately not watched to see if he'd been checking out the retail employee earlier that day. She didn't want to ask questions she might not like the answers to.

It was a little unbelievable that some free clothes and light wooing on a rooftop had turned sexual attraction into something deeper for her. Then again maybe it was just lust. Or maybe it was curiosity. His ability to keep anything regarding his job a secret for her was gnawing at her investigative journalist tendencies.

How she longed to report something of quality. Unfortunately, her attempt to do so after the third warning not to choose her own assignments had ended up in a suspension and then termination.

She supposed it was foolish and irrational, but she couldn't help herself. She wanted to write about something that _mattered_.

And Patty, sweetheart that she was who would never hurt a fly, finally lost all her patience when she heard of Iris' newly established unemployment. She sympathized, of course, but when Iris tried to explain the situation and Patty heard nothing but the same-old, same-old, she ordered her to leave. And Iris, shocked to the core that this angel of a human being would do such a thing, went without question. The door slamming behind her as she left nearly scared her to death.

She knew Patty just needed time, and that she would regret her actions. The two women didn't have much in common, but they were both good, decent people trying to survive the wild world of law enforcement and the search for the truth. Patty's field just happened to be keener on the serious issues than Iris' was. Most of the time.

And Iris did feel bad. Patty would soon have to go apartment-hunting too if she couldn't find another roommate to cover the costs of rent and utilities.

It was just a mess that Iris didn't want to think about. Which was precisely what she'd gone and done every second since she'd been kicked out. Until Barry walked into her life. With the exception of the morning after hangover she'd endured above the bar at Teddy's, she'd done little _but_ think of Barry. Whether it was in a negative or positive light, she was still thinking of him. And she was going to continue to do so until at least the next morning when reality sank in again.

It was only Tuesday, though, and Barry had said he was staying in town until the end of the week.

Maybe he wouldn't mind sharing his hotel room with her during that time?

 _What? Are you going steady with him now, Iris?_

She rolled her eyes, punishing her inner self for her dreams, when Barry interrupted her by whispering the sweetest words into her ears.

"You're the most beautiful woman in the room tonight, Iris."

Heat spread into her cheeks, but she wasn't embarrassed. She was happy. She turned to look into his eyes and saw such adoration there she had to blink to make sure it was real. It didn't go away. His fingers intertwined with hers, and for all intents and purposes, Iris truly felt like they were the only two people in the world.

"Thank you," she finally whispered in response, and he smiled, lifting her hand to his lips for him to kiss.

She was thinking of other places he'd kissed earlier in the day and the night before, but she put a stop to it quickly. She'd never be able to focus on the task at hand, which was being a professional plus one at his work-related gala. She couldn't be pulling him away to make out with him in a quiet, abandoned, far away hall. If they got caught, he would be in trouble – It might even end his career.

"Allen!"

They both turned at the sound of Barry's last name, and Barry's demeanor immediately changed.

"It's my boss. Come on."

His _boss_?

But she went along anyway, forcing herself to keep up with him in her high, high heels.

"Sir," Barry greeted, then turned to Iris. "Iris, this is my supervisor, Mr. Draeger."

"Kevin," the man corrected, then warmly and firmly shook Iris' hand. After their hands dropped, he sent a suspicious look Barry's way. "Where on earth did you find her?" he asked, skeptical.

Barry shrugged, unworried in the slightest. "Where do all men find the women of their dreams?"

She gasped, not registering that they'd met in a dingey bar.

"A little forward for a first date, isn't it, Bartholomew?" Kevin asked, his voice going low.

Iris felt the tension building and cut in.

"Who says it's a first date?" she asked.

Kevin glanced at her. "I think I know my employees well enough to-"

"Know who they're seeing romantically?" she pushed. "Or sexually."

His eyes widened. "Gutsy girl you've got there, Allen."

"That girl is standing right here," she interrupted. "And she wants to dance with her man."

Both men's jaws were hanging open by this point, but Iris only addressed Barry.

"Shall we?" she asked, and he nodded subtly, not looking back at his boss for a moment as Iris led him onto the dance floor.

"You're incredible," he said, pulling her close as they started the waltz.

"I couldn't let him talk to you like that."

"He's my _boss_."

"And I'm your _date_. Remember?"

He smirked, then slowly allowed his hand to lower a few inches down her back. Iris put on a good show, but he'd felt her delicious shivers.

"How could I forget?"


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** Six chaps of this fic coming your way... Enjoy! (Commissioned by travelattwighlight and andromidagalaxie on tumblr)

 ***** Many thanks to **sendtherain** for beta'ing.

 ***** I own nothing. No copyright infringement intended.

* * *

 **Chapter 5 -**

Today felt like a fairytale. And while a lot of men he knew – and women in his field – snorted at the concept being a reality, Barry Allen was one of the few that believed. There were such things as love and happy endings and the American Dream. And while he hadn't yet achieved the latter two, he was fairly certain he was falling into the first.

There was something about this Iris West that just drew him in. Sure, the way they'd met might cause her to raise her voice more than she already did if she were to ever find out. But he didn't plan on letting her find out. He was very good at keeping secrets, and even better at lying to protect himself and others. The trick was to insert a grain of truth into everything he said and not oversell it. Though if anyone could peel back his layers, it would be the woman in his arms now.

Unfortunately for himself, he knew the glare his boss had been sending for the last ten minutes across the room wasn't solely due to how brash Iris had been when they'd left his side. One did not bring an unknown into these galas. Spouses, for the few that had them, and those involved in the company in one way or another was it. Because these galas weren't all fun and games. They were work galas. After some wine and dancing, assignments were to be carried out. It was a disguise.

So, no, his boss was not pleased to see a potential casualty in the mix tonight. And he knew, sooner rather than later, he'd have to resume their conversation and explain himself.

"Where are you?" Iris asked, winding her fingers in the soft hair on his neck, and pulling him out of his own head.

He smiled genuinely and refamiliarized himself with the curve of her body beneath his hands.

"Someplace boring."

She laughed, the sound making him dizzy.

"Well, stop it. Come back to me," she urged, closing the distance between them even more somehow.

He groaned softly, his cock twitching in his trousers.

"You'll be the death of me," he murmured in her ear, smirking as he felt the shivers ripple down her spine.

"And you of me, I'm sure." Her breath caught in her throat.

He spun her away from him and back in a swirl that had her eyes alight with surprise and clutching his shoulders tightly.

"You know how to dance."

"I know how to dance."

"What else can you do?" she asked, after another turn around the dance floor.

"Get you champagne, maybe?" He stopped suddenly, grinning and steadying her when her heel caught the hem of her dress.

"Champagne sounds nice."

"I'll be right back." He winked, then left her standing breathless amidst the other couples dancing around her.

It was a distraction, a hint to his superior that he hoped he would grasp, and he did. Mere seconds after he'd reached the champagne table, the bark sounded from the other side.

"What the hell do you think you're doing bringing Iris West here?"

Barry calmly lifted his gaze to his boss's.

"You told me to bring a date," he said, taking a sip of champagne.

"I told you to bring a specific date."

"I'm not married."

"Allen."

"And I don't think it'd be right to give any of my fellow co-workers a bad impression by bringing them to a company event."

"You've slept with half of them."

"Oops?"

He pinched his forehead.

"I told you to bring-"

"I know, okay? I know. But you thought it was Iris first."

"Ms. West."

Barry blinked. "Ms. West. Sure. Whatever."

"I was wrong. I told you I was wrong and gave you the right target, and you…what? Decided to romance an uninvolved civilian instead?"

"She's not _just_ a civilian," he said, annoyed.

"Would you like her to be a casualty, _too_?"

Barry tensed.

"Get her out of here, Allen. You can start your search for Bethany Walker tomorrow. Get the job done and forget all about Iris West."

"I can't just… _leave_ her," he said, scandalized.

The older man raised his eyebrows, amused.

"I have a plenty of women here who would argue to the contrary."

Barry brooded.

"It's for her own good, and you know it. This kind of life doesn't warrant romance, unless the other party is already a part of it and understands the business. And I know for a fact you won't be telling her."

Barry didn't argue the point, and Mr. Draeger took his silence as confirmation of obedience.

"Good."

Agitated, but not dismissive, he asked, "What time?"

"One hour."

Barry's lips parted.

"That's all the time I'm giving you to romance her and take her home."

"She doesn't have anywhere to go. I have to take her back to my room."

Kevin was exasperated. "Two then, but you're really pushing it, Barry. If you're a second late-"

"I know, I know. Two hours. Got it."

"Here." He dug some pills out of his pocket and shoved them into Barry's hand.

Barry looked at him incredulously.

"In case you need them. This will probably last all night."

"I'm not going to-"

"I said in _case_ ," he growled. "They're not going to hurt her. They're just going to make sure she has no questions come morning."

Barry didn't like it, but he knew he was being a bit of hypocrite, since he'd used the sleeping pills on previous one-night stands that got too close to his job scene.

He shoved the pills into his own pocket, then turned with both glasses of champagne in his hands and headed for a very worried looking Iris on the other side of the room, now standing on the sidelines.

"Everything okay?" she asked, watching his gaze and how it flickered away from hers every few seconds.

"Never better," he said, clinking his glass with hers.

"If I did something to-"

He silenced her with a light kiss to her lips as he gripped her chin between thumb and forefinger.

"What could you do?"

…

About half an hour after his return to her, Barry suggested they leave the gala for the night. Iris found it strange, since he'd made such a big deal of getting her a dress. But they had stayed nearly an hour, and she was getting a little dizzy from dancing and gulping down flutes of champagne. She wanted to suggest they take a moonlit stroll, but even that she worried might end up with him carrying her all the way back to the hotel.

 _Or taking a taxi._

Yeah, the latter was probably more likely, but she'd rather believe he'd gallantly carry her across the city in his arms like a knight in shining armor.

"Did you have fun?" he asked, after closing the door behind them inside the hotel room.

She nodded. "Yeah."

"Tired?" he asked, sounding amused.

"You spun me a lot," she mused, then turned to him with a quirky smirk after kicking off her shoes. "It's _almost_ like you were trying to take advantage of me."

"Trying to seduce you by making you dizzy?" He raised his eyebrows. "Oh, yeah, that is classic rule number one. Works every time."

She frowned. "Every time?"

His heart plummeted. She didn't know he'd been a player since high school, and it would only ruin the mood to tell her now. Besides, there was something about her that made him not want to sleep with someone else ever again if he could have her.

"There's only you now."

She leapt up onto her tip toes, those words the magic ticket, and he lifted her a little so their lips could join fully in a passionate kiss. Before they knew it, they were undressing each other and tumbling onto the bed, getting lost in each other and in the night and in whatever this was between them. And when it was over, Iris could barely keep her eyes open.

"Goo..night, B…rry," she mumbled, before turning her head to the side and promptly starting to snore.

He chuckled to himself. After he was sure she was indeed sound asleep, he rolled carefully off the bed, put on his tux again, and was out the door before she was any the wiser.

He'd get back to her as soon as he could and cherish the time they had left. Hopefully she'd still be sleeping, so he could get some shut eye himself before they embarked on the day together, short-lived though it would be.

He knew Kevin was right. He had to get back on assignment. He had to find Bethany Walker and do his job. Iris had been easy to seduce because she'd wanted him from the moment he laid eyes on her. Bethany had a husband and three children and, by all appearances, was very happy in her own life.

So happy, in fact, that she'd decided to take up a side gig of thieving and steal some very expensive jewels, carved out inside and containing important government secrets. She was confident and gutsy and a beauty, according to her file, but he knew eventually she'd cave to his seduction the same every woman did.

He was uneasy now though, because suddenly his real number one move didn't feel so inviting. It felt like cheating on Iris, even though they'd only been together a day – and were they really together? Half a day, maybe. He knew he wouldn't like hearing about – or worse, seeing – Iris with somebody else after the time they'd shared.

This feelings business was just so damn complicated. He wished he could have compartmentalized her into the same 'just sex' category as he had every other woman in his life, save his mother, but she had broken free of it before he even realized.

Bethany wouldn't be harder because she was a confident, intelligent, clever woman with a family.

She'd be harder because she wasn't Iris.

"Allen, where the hell are you?" his supervisor gargled in his ear.

Barry adjusted the com and checked his phone.

"I'm right outside and five minutes early. Check your watch."

The grumbling resumed.

"Just checking." He paused. "Glad to see you got your priorities straight."

Barry didn't correct that. Instead, he pulled open the large glass door and mingled with the other guests until he reached the far side, giving Kevin a nod before ducking behind a curtain. Bethany might be the key to this operation, but there was so much going on surrounding her and the organization she worked for. The front as a charity was bullshit and sent money not only into Bethany's pocket, but to all her superiors and partners in crime. There was more than one person to take hostage, interrogate, and inevitably turn over to the higher-up authorities. Tonight could've been all of the necessary pieces, which was why Barry's boss was so pissed that it wouldn't be.

That would be a worry for another day, though.

Several agents lined up behind him and another bunch were across the floor in a parallel location. Still more were beneath the floors where a meeting was being held, and the rest remained in the ballroom as a disguise, mere partygoers, sponsors, and the like. No one was the wiser to the guns strapped to their thighs and snug in their tuxedo jackets.

3…2…1

…

Iris woke up around midnight, groggy, yawning, and needing to throw up. She ran to the bathroom just in time, hurling the champagne and hors d'oeuvres she'd consumed earlier in the evening. For some reason, she expected Barry to suddenly be up, woken by the sound of her yacking, and come running to her aid. She was too tired to look and see where he was – if he really was that sound of a sleeper – or if he thought she didn't need the extra assistance. _Ass_.

But when she finally summoned enough strength to stand to her feet, gulp down water from the sink to clear her throat and remove the awful taste of vomit, and return to the bed, she saw there was no trace of Barry Allen.

A cold chill ran down her spine. She told herself not to overreact, that he wouldn't ditch her while she was sleeping. But no excuse was coming to her, and her head was pounding.

Unable to think clearly, Iris collapsed back on the bed and fell promptly asleep. Maybe it was just all a bad dream.

Or _maybe_ Barry would have some explaining to do in the morning.


	6. Chapter 6

***** I own nothing. No copyright infringement intended.

 ***** Many thanks to **sendtherain** for beta'ing.

* * *

 **Chapter 6 -**

At dawn, Barry found his way down a back alley leading to his hotel. Dirt and sweat and a little blood mingled on his skin. He was tired, and he needed a shower. Kevin had been right, as usual. The completion of his assignment had taken all night, if you included the interrogating and dealing with loose ends in a way that wouldn't affect anyone outside the building. None of the general public knew what was going on, and they wouldn't. He wouldn't be telling Iris, and everyone else knew better.

He winced as the pain in his jaw revived itself. Stopping by a dumpster, he rid himself of his tux jacket that that had been ripped in a couple places and put his shirt on inside out in order to hide some of the darker blood spots that luckily he hadn't been the cause or the victim of but had still been splattered in the process.

Winding his fingers in his hair so it didn't look quite so out of place, Barry came in the back end of the building and stepped inside the elevator. The decent-sized cube wall all mirrors on every side, which made his appearance seem ten times worse. He could also see a bruise along his jaw where he'd taken a hit and knew it would be much darker and larger in a few hours. His mind raced with just how many lies he'd have to tell Iris that she would believe.

Would he be better off not going to the room? Should he leave her now, start from scratch, and focus entirely on Bethany? Put Iris out of his head, as if the last day and a half hadn't happened?

Without considering such an alternative, he stepped out of the elevator, made his way down the hall, and opened the hotel room with a key card that thankfully only ignited a little green light instead of making a soft _beep_ noise.

Looking across the room, he found Iris still in bed, lying the way he had left her with her face to the window. When he got closer, he saw there were beads of sweat on her arms and forehead. Sliding out of his shoes, he went and turned on the air conditioning and saw it immediately relaxed her, even as she slept.

He smiled slightly until he saw two bottles of pills on the tabletop beside her.

"Shit."

One was Advil, probably that she'd brought herself or that she'd gotten from the front desk that she needed when the hangover hit, likely in the middle of the night when she had to vomit – which he should've taken into account too.

But the other bottle of pills was _his_ bottle. Quickly, he sank his hands into his pockets, hoping it was just a duplicate. But then he recalled taking them out and setting them on the counter in the bathroom the moment he'd decided he wasn't going to give them to her. It was another reckless decision on his part. He could've taken them with him and shoved them back into his boss's hand. He could've dropped them in the trash. He could've put them in his suitcase to save for a later date, perhaps for himself when an adrenaline-driven night left him wired instead of on the brink of exhaustion.

But the deed had been done, and it was clear in her sleep Iris had mistakenly swallowed a few of the heavy-duty sleeping pills instead of the often-advised hangover drugs. Maybe she was alert enough to recognize them for what they were, but he doubted it.

 _Well, you wanted to get some shut eye, didn't you? Now here's your chance._

Quietly, he unzipped his suitcase and pulled out a large t-shirt and some boxers, as well as his trusty comb. Then he headed for the bathroom, shut the door behind him, and lost himself in a gloriously hot, steamy shower.

…

Iris woke up what felt like an eternity later. She didn't remember much from the night before, besides dancing with Barry, which felt like a dream in and of itself. In the end, she decided it didn't matter. Her hangover hadn't quite hit her yet, and she didn't feel the urge to vomit like she had in the middle of the night. To top it all off, a familiar arm was wrapped around her waist and the face that belonged to the body the arm was attached to was buried in her hair.

And yeah, she decided, it was way better than hooking up in a unisex public bathroom.

"Your heart's racing," tumbled past the lips brushing her neck. They turned into a smirk when shivers shot down her arms and legs.

"It's not often I wake up this way," she said, heat flooding her cheeks.

Barry propped himself up so he could glory at how flustered he'd gotten her.

"What, in a hotel room?" he asked innocently.

She rolled her eyes and turned over to face him, struck once again by how attractive he was and how attracted to her he seemed to be.

"That's supposed to make my heart race?"

He raised his eyebrows, saying nothing, so she punched his shoulder and he chuckled, wincing a little.

"Big baby."

She was about to tease him further, but something about his smile didn't seem quite natural. It seemed a little forced. Like that wince she'd just drawn out of him was a little more serious than he was letting on.

"What?" he asked, frowning with confusion, but the tone of his voice told her she was on to something.

She lifted her fingers to his chin and started to tilt his head to the side.

"Iris, wha-"

She released his face instantly.

"Oh, my God. _Barry_." Her hand covered the gasp emerging past her lips.

"It's not as bad as it looks, Iris, really."

She bit her bottom lip and daintily pressed her fingertips to the large bruise on his jaw line.

He hissed in pain.

She gave him a look.

"Okay, so it hurts. What do you want from me?" He tried for light, but she wasn't having it.

"What happened?" she demanded.

He sighed.

"I…may have gone out for an evening stroll last night and wound up in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"You were mugged?" Her jaw dropped as her eyes went wide.

His lips twisted ruefully, sending a small sharp pain back to his jaw and making him regret it.

"Not mugged. Just punched."

"Oh, God, Barry," she cooed, lovingly touching the side of his face.

"I'm okay, Iris. Really."

She paused and lifted her eyes to his, scrutinizing him intently.

"Have you iced it?"

"Iris."

"Have you?"

The silent tension built till finally he caved. "No."

"You have to ice it, Barry!" she proclaimed, jumping out of bed and rushing into the bathroom bare-naked to wrap a complimentary bathrobe around her frame, before snatching up the ice bucket on top of the dresser and heading towards the door with purpose.

"Iris! Iris!" He scrambled out of bed, unwilling to have her covered in just a short robe as she made her way down a long hall to get ice for his injured face.

"No." Her tone stopped him solid. "Go lie down. I'll be right back."

Unsurprisingly, as he would learn from future encounters, he did exactly as he was told and waited for her return.

…

An hour later, Barry and Iris were once again lying in bed. Now watching TV as Iris held the ice stuffed in a towel against his jaw with one hand and weaved her fingers through his hair with the other.

There were worse things he'd had to endure, Barry admitted to himself. In fact, it was kind of nice to have someone fussing over him the way Iris was currently doing. He couldn't even remember the last time it had happened. Probably the time he was shot and tried to go back into action before the wound was fully healed. Kevin was not happy about that.

..

"What the _hell_ do you think you're doing, Allen?"

"I'm going back into-"

"The hell you are. Sit your ass back down on that creaky hospital bed and take a rest. We need you fully functioning not just being held together with stitches."

"It's just a little scrape."

"A _bullet wound_ is _not_ 'just a little scrape'."

"I think you're exaggerating." Barry rolled his eyes.

"Son, I am your superior."

He looked up at him, seeming to take that in for the first time.

"I don't care what life was like before I found you. Things are different now. You follow my rules. You do as your told. And you don't go back out into the field unless your 'little scrape' is just that, a little scrape. It doesn't hurt, it's not bleeding, and it doesn't need stitches to heal. Do you understand?"

"It doesn't-"

"DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"

Barry stifled a small sigh in response. " _Yes, Kevin_ ," he drawled out.

"I'm Mr. Draeger to you," he said and then walked out, locking the hospital room behind him as his newest recruit brooded.

..

Thinking back on the memory made Barry smile – which he could do with his jaw totally numb from the combination of ice and pain meds. He'd never quite gotten around to calling his boss by his formal name. Eventually, Kevin just gave up. In exchange, Barry took his orders more seriously.

Most of the time, at least.

He thought back to last night and the danger he'd put Iris in simply because he hadn't been thinking clearly. Obviously, it wasn't a good idea to take her to the gala. It wasn't a good idea to involve her at all.

He'd just known he had to have her. And Kevin informing him she wasn't the intended target only made his desire for her even stronger. He could easily track her down, but he was glad he didn't have to due to his clever inserting of his number and 'name' in her phone before she decided she hated him. And now? Well, now she didn't hate him at all. He'd been a complete romantic, and sexy as hell if her reaction was any indication.

He wished it could always be like this. They could just spend their days sightseeing from rooftops, getting massages, making love all day long and calling for room service when they were too drained to take two steps out of bed.

But he knew it couldn't be. In just a few days, he'd be leaving her. While it was true he'd be returning next month – presuming Bethany _also_ stayed in or near the city – a month was a long time to wait. And for all he knew, Iris would have long forgotten about him by then.

"How are you feeling?" Iris asked, when a boring commercial interrupted the very long romance film she'd insisted they watch.

He smiled a little. "Better."

"I already know you better than you know yourself, Barry," she said.

He frowned, confused. He wasn't hiding anything this time.

"What's bothering you?"

"Nothing," he said instantly.

"You were deep in thought."

"Can't I be deep in thought and not be bothered?"

"Tell me," she implored, running her fingers down the side of his face, and _God_ , he _wanted_ to tell her everything when she touched him like that.

"I'm just thinking about the end of the week," he admitted, figuring this was okay to be truthful about.

Now she looked confused.

"I leave at the end of the week."

"I know," she said, tensing some.

"What if, when I come back next month, you've moved on?"

Shockingly, she burst out laughing, making him feel like a fool.

"I didn't know it was that funny."

"It's not. It's not." She wiped happy tears from her eyes. "I'm not laughing at you." He gave her a suspect glare. "I'm not," she insisted. "I'm laughing at us."

His brows furrowed.

She cradled his face in her hands and let the makeshift ice pack fall between them as she gazed lovingly into his eyes.

"I was worrying about the same thing."


	7. Chapter 7

***** Many thanks to **sendtherain** for beta'ing.

 ***** I own nothing. No copyright infringement intended.

* * *

 **Chapter 7 -**

The buzz from Barry's shaver woke Iris from pleasant dreams in which she and Barry had barely left the hotel bed because they'd been having sex nonstop from the moment Iris had promised to be "gentle" due to his bruise. Her eyes flickered open and, seeing Barry with a towel around his waist, intently shaving the scruff from his chin, she realized that was exactly what had happened. They'd completely lost themselves in each other for the past two days, and here Barry was trying to surface back to reality.

Well, she couldn't have that.

"Morning, Baby," she cooed, skipping over to his side.

He smirked, lifting the shaver away from his skin momentarily and glanced at her through the mirror.

"Baby?"

She tried to ignore the heat rising in her cheeks.

"Are we going steady?" he asked, turning to face her and setting his shaver on the other side of the sink.

"Well, I…I mean-"

"It's been less than a week, Iris. Just a few days ago, you thought I was the scum of the earth."

She gulped. "I wouldn't say the _earth_." Her fingers slid along the countertop shyly.

"No?" he teased, meeting her fingers halfway and intertwining them before lifting her up and setting her on the counter where their fingers had been.

She gasped and clutched his shoulders, then looked into his lustful eyes.

"Beast!" She smacked him playfully.

He only laughed though and then silenced her protests with long, sensuous kisses.

"You want to know the best part about morning sex?" he whispered, flicking his tongue over the shell of her ear. She shivered.

"What's that?" Her nails dug deeper as she brought herself flush up against him.

He pulled back enough so her hazy eyes could meet the heat in his.

"There's not much to undress."

Iris was smiling like a fool, tracing the freckles on his skin as her panties dampened and Barry slid his two fingers beneath her teddy straps, dragging them halfway to her elbows. He tipped her chin up to kiss her again and saw to his dismay that her smile was fading away.

"What is it?"

"You leave tomorrow."

He sighed. "I told you I could stay till Saturday. That'll still get me in London by Sunday night."

"Where you'll stay for the next month."

"Iris…" He ran his hands up her arms.

"No, I know… It's just, these past few days have been so great. I haven't had a chance to wonder if we're moving too fast, or what I'm going to do when you're gone."

"You'll be fine," he assured her.

"I'm not just talking about life without you, Babe. I'm talking about where I'm going to live, what job I'm going to have, if I'll ever mend any of the relationships I've lost…"

"You will," he assured. "And you'll start with your roommate."

She scoffed. "Ex-roommate."

"She sounds nice," he argued. "Why don't you try talking to her again?"

She shook her head. "Unless I take back everything I said and have a job, there's no way she'll take me back. And I am not crawling back to my parents' place. They'll never understand."

"What about your brother?"

"He's busy with college and his super genius girlfriend whose dad hates his guts. I don't want to get in the middle of that. Besides, he doesn't have room for me."

"He has a couch, doesn't he?"

Iris smiled slowly when she realized there was one person Barry was deliberately not suggesting.

"What?" he asked, on a rare occurrence, unnerved.

"You really don't want me going back to Teddy, do you?"

"I'd rather you didn't use the phrase 'going back to'," he muttered under his breath.

She laughed and turned his face back to her.

"He's younger than my brother. You have nothing to worry about."

"He's a good guy."

"You don't him because he's a good guy?"

"No, I don't like him because he has a crush on you."

"Good thing I'm not interested, then."

He pursed his lips.

She drew her finger down the side of his face.

"And for your information, he told me he cares about me because I remind him of his _sister_."

Barry blinked. _Oh_.

"His sister?"

She nodded. "Mhmm."

His brows furrowed. "That's crazy."

"You don't even know who his sister is."

"Well, no, but how could any man in their right mind think of you as their sis-"

She pulled his face to hers and kissed him soundly, sticking her tongue in his mouth and tangling it with his for good measure. When she pulled away, he looked dazed with happiness. She hooked her ankles around his thighs and ran her hands over his back before settling them on his shoulders again.

"Now, shall we pick up where we left off before I so rudely interrupted us by getting sad about you leaving mid-make-out?"

He smiled softly. "I'm coming back, Iris."

"I know."

He brushed his nose against hers, nuzzling for a few moments before diving in for more kisses. Her teddy was down to her hips with Barry lapping at her nipples with simultaneously massaging her scalp between lush dark tresses when a buzz followed by a ring sounded from the other room. They both immediately resurfaced to look in the direction of the sound.

"It's yours," Iris said.

"How do you know that?" He frowned.

"Because everyone hates my guts and that's not my ringtone."

He sighed. "Fair enough."

Reluctantly, he released her, tightened the towel around his waist, and strode out to the bedside table where he saw the name of the person he least wanted to talk to staring at him.

"I better take this."

Iris pouted, but she was already pulling the straps and the teddy back up her body and walked toward him.

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah. Probably." He paused. "Maybe."

"Oh, that sounds reassuring," she drawled, gathering some of the other clothes Barry had bought her with the dress to prepare for a shower.

"It's just that…I haven't worked all week, and…my boss probably wants an update that proves I did."

She chuckled. "I could talk to him if you like."

"And tell him what? That I've been busy having sex with the woman who sassed him at the big company gala?"

She shrugged innocently. "What's the worst that could happen?"

He laughed and kissed her cheek.

"Go take your shower. I should be done with this by the time you get out."

"Okay," she said, swaying her hips as she headed towards the bathroom.

He groaned inwardly, watching her, then reluctantly answered the still ringing phone.

"Kevin! Hey! How's it going?" After some snarling from the other end, Barry accepted his duty. "Yeah, I'll meet you in ten." He listened to the reply then grinned to himself. "Why not five?" Kevin was exasperated. "Because I'm half-naked and with a gorgeous woman in my shower."

Kevin was not happy to hear that but accepted the inevitable and hung up on his increasingly frustrating young agent.

Barry knocked lightly at the bathroom door.

"Iris?"

"Yeah?" she called out, briefly shutting off the shower water.

"I have to go meet my boss."

"Is everything okay?" she asked, peeking out the door with a worried expression on her face.

"Yeah. Meet you in half-hour on the roof for an early lunch?"

She smiled brilliantly. "Sounds perfect."

…

To say Kevin was agitated was the understatement of the century. He spent a full fifteen minutes lecturing Barry about emotional entanglements and neglecting his duty. Then he complained about the lemonade that had been served to him at the secluded café he'd chosen to meet at because it wasn't lemony enough.

"What do you want me to say?"

"I want you to say you found Bethany."

"Well, I haven't."

"That's for damn certain."

Barry rolled his eyes and looked away.

"Don't. I do not pay you to romance someone who should not have been involved in the first place. A one-night stand is one thing, but you've been sleeping with her all week."

He narrowed his eyebrows. "How is that your business?"

"It become my business when it starts to interfere with your work. Don't lie to me and say that it hasn't."

Barry's lips thinned.

"Thought so."

"I'll reach out to Felicity after lunch and see if-"

"Not after lunch. As soon as we're done here."

"I can't. I told Iris-"

"Tell her something came up. Surprise Felicity with lunch, and maybe she'll be gracious enough to help you find this woman in the next twenty-four hours."

"I'm staying until Saturday." Kevin opened his mouth to interject. "And before you say anything, I know nothing will be necessary back home until Monday."

"You're always on call in case something comes up. You know that. Everyone's heading back tomorrow night. That includes you. And before you interject," he said, as Barry was about to do the same. "I'm going to do a headcount."

Barry scoffed.

"I don't think I have to remind you what good incentive I have to make sure you're on that plane."

His eyes narrowed.

"I thought you were better than that."

"I don't want to use it. I actually like you and want what's best for you."

"Could've fooled me."

"But I need to make sure my agents stay in line. I'll use what I have to so that they do."

Barry stared at him, speechless.

"Am I understood?"

He was silent for a long while before his numbed tongue and dry mouth resumed to normal status.

"Yeah."

"Good." He stood to his feet. "Cover my bill, would you?" And then he left, not waiting for a response.

Barry sneered. "Sure thing, boss," he muttered.

Sinking back into his seat, he glanced out over the city and imagined how much better the last twenty minutes would've been if they'd been with Iris instead. He hadn't believed in love in a long time, but if he were ever to believe in it again, it would definitely be with her.

Part of him wished she had been the target all along, but the other part of him was glad she wasn't. He'd been relieved when he'd learned she wasn't the one following their "first meeting." Despite her hostility towards him early on – and with good reason – it felt better sweeping her off her feet knowing she was innocent of all charges.

Lying had become second nature, though, and he knew it would have to be with her as well. Even telling her that he'd be back every month to see her was a lie, but he knew he'd make it happen somehow. Assignments were all over the world. He could easily request monthly ones that ended up in or near Central City.

Bethany was a one-and-done deal, no matter how much he wished otherwise. And he did wish it. The possibility was certainly there that there would be complications and he'd have to keep coming back. More than likely though, someone else would be brought in to finish what he started, and he'd be shipped off to someplace far, far away. The other side of the world, if Kevin had anything to say about it. And he figured he would.

Paying with cash, he exited the café and made a special order for Felicity's favorite – which somehow always ended up being available no matter where they went. He knew where she'd be and that she wouldn't have eaten anything yet. He also knew she had a soft spot for his particular brand of puppy dog eyes and wouldn't be able to resist finding an unknown to help him with his assignment.

She had, after all, been the one to show him the ropes when he first joined the agency, although they ended up in different segments of it – him with bringing targets in from the field via seduction and hers with tech.

She was the best.


	8. Chapter 8

***** Many thanks to **sendtherain** for beta'ing.

 ***** I own nothing. No copyright infringement intended.

* * *

 **Chapter 8 -**

With a generosity she was not feeling, Iris responded with a smiley face emoji and an agreeable _sure_ followed by an enthusiastic _can't wait to see you!_

Barry had canceled on her. Again.

She supposed it was partially her fault. She'd been ravenous with him the last couple days. He'd indulged her, of course, but she'd been the one constantly pinning him to the bed or the door or the wall or down on the seat in the shower so she could straddle him. Honestly, she couldn't remember ever being this horny in her entire life.

Then again, she hadn't gotten laid in months, maybe even a year. She was long overdue for some body lovin'.

It was more than that, as reluctant as she was to admit it. She sexed the man up because lust made no sense. She had despised him shortly after they first met, and now she was calling him pet names because the last few days had consisted of probably the best sex she'd ever had.

It was ridiculous. She was ridiculous.

But one thing wasn't.

What Barry said about Patty… Well, she didn't want to do it, but she knew she had to. Great sex with Barry wasn't going to make her problems go away. And he was right that she needed to have a plan for after he was gone, since he wouldn't be there to assist her for another month. She couldn't force her boss to take her back, and the problems with her family were too difficult to resolve in one day. But Patty… Patty had always been on her side, even after she heard about the family drama that would make anyone else side with Iris' parents.

Patty had been royally pissed off the day she kicked Iris out, and she hadn't tried to call her, but it was difficult for the cop-in-training to stay mad. Just because Iris hadn't ever seen her actually get this mad before now didn't mean she wasn't also capable of coming down from it after a certain period of time. She might not take her back as a roommate, but maybe their friendship could be mended, and Patty could even help her look for a job.

Iris bit her bottom lip, debating her two very straightforward options: to call or not to call.

She opted not to call and texted instead.

Pulling out her phone, she found Patty in her contacts and opened a text message.

 **Can we talk?**

She hit send.

Moments later she received a reply. The buzz from her phone nearly made her jump out of her seat it was so instant.

 ** _Where?_**

Iris breathed a sigh of relief. Patty knew her. She knew she was an in-person kind of girl when it came to resolving conflict. And often, that she needed the other party to come to her.

 **The Charlton. Rooftop café.**

Patty didn't respond for a full minute.

 ** _SRSLY?!_**

Iris smiled to herself and sent one final message.

 **Get here as soon as you can.** ?

…

Humming quietly to herself with a headset and three computer monitors in front of her as well as two hanging from the ceiling, Felicity Smoak multi-tasked through five of the big projects of the day that she'd been steadily going at since eight o'clock that morning.

It was now noon.

A light knock on the door frame leading to the gloomy room lit only by a couple dim lamps and monitors did nothing to dissuade her from her tasks.

Opening the take-out bag containing her favorite meal though, was.

She stopped, her fingers hovering over the keyboard in front of her. She sniffed a few times, the sounds in her headset fading away due to her concentration. She turned around slowly.

"Is that…"

She saw his huge, gorgeous smile seconds before she connected who he was without seeing his face clearly and what he'd brought for her without seeing that in front of her.

"Barry All-"

But she nearly went down in her haste to get to him, thanks to a headset still attached to the monitor and now wrapped around her head.

Barry, with his long stride, got to her seconds before her heels went sideways and managed to catch her mid-air with one heel still barely touching the ground.

She straightened her glasses that had gone sideways and blinked a few times before looking at him, scrutinizing.

"Is my food safe?" she asked, which made him laugh belatedly and glance at the bag before him on the floor.

"Perfectly," he said, setting her down. But she was too worried that somehow her food being that close to the floor might taint it somehow.

"Barry, you can't just-"

He raised his eyebrows after she'd turned around with the bag clutched tightly in her arms.

"Thank you for lunch."

She climbed up the two steps to get back to her seat, then sat down.

"You can go now."

His jaw dropped.

"That's it?"

He followed her over to the semi-circle desk and sat down on the least cluttered part of it, despite Felicity's fussing that he was moving her _very important papers_ to the wrong piles and thus messing up _everything_.

He resolved to stand up and search out the stool but found that also had a stack of papers on it that was likely just as important as the rest.

"There's got to be a better way to organize this," he muttered under his breath.

He thought briefly back to his file on Iris and how she'd always had the cleanest presentation boards and well-written papers in school, and how – until she'd been kicked out – her bedroom had been immaculate.

He shook his head at how ridiculous some of the facts on people the government deemed important for a later date.

But he dismissed his initial thought too. Iris deserved so much more than just making Felicity's endless paperwork organized and presentable.

"I thought I wasn't going to see you this week," she said, taking a bite into a sandwich Barry couldn't even pronounce let alone imagine actually tasted good. She moaned appreciatively.

"Yeah, I…" He tried to come up with a good excuse and came up blank, which was so unlike him.

"Draeger finally got to you, huh?"

He sighed. "It's not that I don't like seeing you, Felicity. We're friends. You're one of the few women in the whole department I haven't slept with yet."

She turned around slowly.

"Always an encouraging thought."

Silence lingered between them.

"Who is she?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Don't play coy with me, Bartholomew," she said around a mouthful of food. "I know you met someone – like, really met someone. Like, not a one-night someone, but a _someone_ someone." She closed her mouth and finished chewing as his mouth fell open.

"How did you-"

"I'm good," she said, relaxing some as she set her sandwich on a napkin.

"You're the best." He grinned.

"So, tell me about her," she said, swinging one knee over the other. "What's she like?"

He ran a hand through her hair and approached her, sinking his hands into his pockets.

"What makes you think-"

"It's a her? Well, you're straighter than an arrow, my friend, so it can't be-"

His brows were fused together, and Felicity's mouth went dry.

"I was going to say serious."

"Right!" She brightened up. "Right, that's exactly what- I was just messing with you."

His eyebrows shot up.

"I promise! I'm not that out of sync with you. We've known each other for what? Ten years?"

"At least," he agreed, and hesitantly sat on a stool Felicity appeared to have pulled out of nowhere.

"So…?"

He wrapped his hand around the back of his head and hesitated, avoiding eye contact.

"Wow. It is serious." Her heart swelled. "I didn't think I'd see the day Barry Allen fell in love."

His eyes fixed on hers immediately.

"I'm not in love."

"Falling?"

"No."

"Infatuated?"

He hesitated again. She smiled victoriously.

"Infatuated, it is."

"Don't get too excited. Kevin says I have to be on the plane back to London tonight. I told Iris I'll come back to see her once a month, but-"

"Ooo…Iris. Iris as in Iris _West_? As in who we all originally thought the target was supposed to be?"

He nodded once, tired already of retreating from the truth.

"One and the same."

"And you've been what? Romancing her for the last three days?"

"Well…" His voice squeaked a bit.

"You haven't just been having sex with her nonstop since the gala, have you?"

"You know me so well, Felicity." He leaned towards her lecherously, and she leaned back against the desk just as far.

"Ray told me you got hit, though."

He angled his head so she could get a better look.

"You probably can't see very well in here, but-"

Felicity reached around under the desk and flipped a switch, immediately lighting up the room.

"Since when-"

Jax installed it last week with a couple of the other guys. That's one of the reasons I was hoping to see you this week, so I could show it off.

"But you choose to keep it off when you're working, because?"

"I focus better in the dark."

He raised his eyebrows again, but there wasn't time for him to remark, because she had turned his head to the side again and nearly screeched into her loud gasp.

"Oh, my God, Barry."

He frowned. "It's not the worst I've gotten."

"No, but it's bad. Who got you?"

"Henry, if you can believe it."

"Henry's new."

"Exactly."

Felicity pursed her lips.

"Well, I hope you didn't take it out on him too harshly. What did you tell Iris?"

"That I went for a walk and got punched in the face."

"And she bought it?" she deadpanned.

He glared.

"Wow, she must have it bad. Almost as bad as you, I dare say. Did she… 'kiss it all better'?" she teased.

"If you _must_ know," He pulled back. "She iced it for a good three hours before any kissing came into play."

She chuckled.

"Oh, my God, I can't believe this. Barry Allen – in love." He opened his mouth to correct her. "Sorry, sorry, 'infatuated'."

He rolled his eyes. "This may come as a surprise, but I didn't come here to talk about my love life with you."

"Oh, it's a love life now, not a sex life?" She wiggled her foot dangling in the air.

"Felicity."

"Okay, okay, I'll stop." She giggled. "My guess is you came because you need help finding Bethany."

He was surprised again but made no show of it this time.

"You guessed right. Have you found her?"

"Well, I wasn't sure you would come, but…yes."

She handed him a small pile of papers.

"This is all the information we have on her. She was last seen entering the bank on North and Bower 20 minutes ago."

His eyes zeroed in on hers.

"Robbery?"

"Unlikely. Her M.O. is night robberies. She's pretty legitimate during the day. It's why she's been so hard to catch. Plus her husband, interestingly enough, makes wigs. So, the whole family makes their getaway through convincing disguises from one state to the next."

"Has she ever tried to go overseas?"

"Not as a criminal, but she used to go to Italy every summer up until she was in her early 20s. She has a dual citizenship there."

Barry's lips thinned. "Interesting."

"Indeed." She tilted her head to the side. "Need anything else from me?"

He looked down at her and relaxed, smiled.

"Just your word that you won't go around telling people I'm sleeping with or in love with anyone."

"So, infatuated is still on the table then?"

He glared, and she laughed.

"You have my word." She waved him off. "What more could I possibly want in life than to have Barry Allen's dirty little secret kept all to myself?"

She kept chuckling until after they'd said their goodbyes and Barry left.

When she stopped, she realized there was more than one of his secrets she was taking to her grave.


	9. Chapter 9

***** Many thanks to **sendtherain** for beta'ing.

 ***** I own nothing. No copyright infringement intended.

* * *

 **Chapter 9 -**

Patty shook her head as she munched on her last piece of salad.

"This is incredible."

"The food?" Iris asked, pretending naivety. "I know. It really is."

"No, this guy."

Iris felt heat rise into her cheeks.

Was she mad at Barry for ditching her twice today? Maybe. Did that change the way she felt about him? Hell no. If anything, it only made her want him more.

 _They do say distance makes the heart grow fonder._

Besides, they had all day tomorrow to spend together before he left. Surely, she could allow for one day's work after having kept him thoroughly occupied for most of his time here. She smiled smugly at the thought.

"You hook up with him – recklessly, of course."

Iris rolled her eyes.

"Then he robs you. Then he takes you out for breakfast and you hook up again."

"He's hot, okay?" Iris felt slightly unnerved.

"Show me a picture."

Iris frowned. "I don't have one. We've only known each other-"

"A few days, yeah, I know. Exactly my point."

Iris sighed. "Patty, I've lost a lot. My parents, my job…you."

Her lips parted.

"So, forgive me if I want to be a little reckless and get involved in a very hot, steamy affair with a mysterious guy who pulls out all the stops for me."

Patty flushed.

"I'm sorry, Iris. I'm being judgy. I'm working on that." She hesitated, then licked her lips. "Come back to the apartment."

Iris slowly set her glass down just as she had brought it halfway to her mouth.

"Are you serious?"

Patty nodded. "I am. I'll take on extra shifts at work while you look for another job. You're really talented. Anybody would be a fool not to take you on. Your…" She paused, debating whether to not all out with her compliments. _The hell with it_. "Your passion be damned."

Iris' jaw dropped.

"Was that…a curse word coming out of your mouth?" She altered her voice to a southern accent. "Patricia Spivot, I do decl _a_ re."

Patty sent her a glare.

"Sorry."

"You're not," she said, wiping her mouth with her napkin. "But I appreciate the sentiment."

Iris sobered up.

"Listen, Patty, in all seriousness, you were right to kick me out. I don't regret what I did, but I should've taken you into consideration. We're not just roommates. We're a team, and I bailed on you."

Patty's shoulders slumped.

"Yeah, well, I did the same."

She brightened almost as soon as she'd deflated. Then she offered up her pinky to Iris.

"Roomies for life?"

Iris grinned and twisted her pinkie around Patty's.

"Roomies for life." She paused, then teased, "Well, unless I marry the guy I wanted to kill and kiss in the same breath earlier this week."

Her eyes twinkled, but then she gasped, realizing what she'd just said.

Patty's eyes were wide as saucers.

"Iris-"

"Nope. Not another word."

…

Barry exhaled loudly as he entered the hotel room, letting the door swing shut behind him. Today had been a _day_. He couldn't remember a day as long as this one in – he didn't know how long. Though he supposed that was more about him wanting to spend it with Iris and not being able to than his tasks actually being that time-consuming or difficult.

He didn't know how he was going to break the news to her, though.

God, how he hated Kevin fucking Draeger.

"Long day?" Iris' voice came from outside on the balcony. She had a glass of champagne in both hands. One had been sipped from. The other was presumably his.

He relaxed, content, a sappy smile coming over his face.

"You look like Heaven," he said, breathing her in after she'd gone up on her tiptoes to give him a kiss. "I wish this could last forever." He held her close, unwilling to let her go.

"We still have tomorrow," she reminded him, and the look that greeted her betrayed every word she said. She sank back onto the balls of her feet. "Or maybe we don't."

"I'm so sorry, Iris."

She took a step back.

"This was our last day. And you spent it-"

"Iris."

"I know I kept you…distracted." She avoided eye contact. "For the last few days, but you told me we'd have tomorrow. You lied to me."

"Iris."

"For the third time today!"

She turned away from him and ran her fingers through her hair, regretting everything she'd planned for the night. Champagne in the silky black dress he'd bought for her, followed by a soak in the hot tub, some making out and cuddling in their robes on the bed before they inevitably made love and fell asleep to the sound of crackling embers in the gas fireplace in the hotel room.

She didn't even know how long he had before he had to go. It was already five o'clock.

"I wasn't lying when I said it!" he said. "I didn't know I'd get caught up. I didn't know my asshole of a boss would hold something over my head, so I'd have to leave tonight."

She spun around.

"What is he holding over you?" Barry sighed. "Let me guess, you can't tell me."

He said nothing.

"God, I can't believe this. I'm leaving."

"Where are you going?" he asked, standing in front of the door even as she picked up her purse and started shoving some of her things inside it.

"Patty's," she spat. "We made up."

His eyes were suddenly alight with happiness.

"You made up? Really?"

"Yes," she seethed.

He approached her slowly.

"That wouldn't have happened if we'd been together all day."

She stalked right up to him, pointing her finger at him angrily.

"Don't turn this into a positive."

"Patty taking you back isn't a good thing?"

"No, of course it is. Just… No. Stop it."

She turned around and went back to packing up what little she could stuff in her medium-sized purse.

"Iris, please don't go," he pleaded.

She glared at him and stopped packing.

"Why not?"

"Because…"

She raised her eyebrows, waiting.

"Because, I…"

He seemed to be searching for words he didn't know and couldn't find. The realization nearly made Iris' heart stop.

He fixed his eyes on her.

"Because I'm going to miss you so damn bad."

He reached for her and closed his mouth over hers before she could think of what to say. Stumbling back into the bed, Barry kicked off his shoes and lifted the silky dress off her, kissing up her stomach and between her breasts as he did so. She shivered in his arms and unbuttoned his shirt, loving the feel of him, the indents of his abs, the firm muscle of his biceps.

He flipped them over and unbuckled his belt, unbuttoning and unzipping his pants soon after. Iris stared at his cock hungrily as it came into view.

"God, I'm obsessed with you."

He drew her gaze away as he came down to kiss her, and the next two hours passed with lovemaking that would stretch into their dreams for the next month as they awaited each other's return.

It would have to.

…

Lying in bed, their legs and fingers intertwined, Iris' head tucked safely into the crook of Barry's neck, she could feel the ache in her heart surging as the alarm signaling Barry's departure went off.

She wanted to beg him to stay. She wanted to tell him to rebel, screw his boss, he could make his own decisions. And if nothing needed to be done till Monday night, then damn it, he should be allowed to stay put until then.

Barry pressed a kiss to her forehead, as his hand flowing up and down her back slowly came to a halt.

"I have to go."

"No," she said, entwining herself further around him.

He smiled to himself, still amazed that this was the same woman who never wanted to see him again less than a week ago.

"I _have_ to, Iris."

She sighed, loosening her grip. Then she untangled herself completely and sat up, facing away from him on the edge of the bed. His hand moved to rub her back again, but she scooted out of reach.

"Iris?"

She looked at him over her shoulder, her long, dark tresses flowing down her back.

"I'm gonna miss you so damn much," she whispered.

He lifted himself up to pull her close and kiss her.

"I'll miss you more."

"You're a dream," she murmured against his skin. "A dream I'm going to lose the second you walk out that door.

"No," he insisted. "I'll come back next month. I'll be with you longer. I promise."

"Sounds like another lie to me," she said whimsically, then regretted it. She didn't apologize, but she offered an apologetic look and that apparently was enough.

"I have a burner phone," he said. "You can call me. Text even. Can't send pictures, though. Unfortunately." His lips twisted wryly.

"Will you think of me?" she asked.

"Every day."

"Dream of me?"

"Every night."

"Want no one but me?"

He stilled.

"I know it's a lot to as-"

"You only want me?" he rasped, and the desperation in his voice forced her to lighten the mood with an offhand remark.

"Well, I certainly don't want Teddy," she teased, then lowered her lips to his for one last kiss.

…

Settled on the airplane, Barry grumpily found his way to a spot in the back. Felicity – surprise, surprise – landed in the seat next to him less than five minutes later.

"How are things with Iris?" she asked giddily.

He glared at her.

"What?" She frowned. "No one can hear us. And I'm excited for you." She nudged him.

"She's pissed," he said. "And heartbroken."

Her frown deepened. "Why's that?"

"I told her I could stay till tomorrow, but Kevin – asshole that he is – used his annoying superiority and blackmailed me into coming back with the rest of you tonight."

Her jaw dropped. "He didn't."

Barry nodded once. "He did. Said anything could happen at a moment's notice and I needed to be present if it did, not an ocean away." He paused. "More or less."

"That son-of-a-"

"My thinking exactly."

"Well, we can't have that." She stood to her feet.

Barry watched her cautiously, almost panicked.

"What are you doing?"

"To give Kevin a piece of my mind."

"No, Felicity, don't! It'll just make it worse!"

"It won't. Trust me." She started heading off, determined. "Felicity Smoak puts fear into the hearts of men."

His brows furrowed, unsure if that made sense. And he contemplated too long, because soon she was at the front of the plane yelling at Kevin. Barry looked away from the two the second Kevin looked in his direction.

Felicity returned to him a few minutes later and sat down quietly. He watched her, then looked at his boss who was glaring but called him to the front of the plane with a curl to his finger. He rose to go to him and Felicity nearly tripped him in the process, clearing her throat as she crossed one knee over the other.

"You're welcome," she coughed; and warily, he smiled.

He strode to the front of the plane where Kevin glared at him and barked his orders.

"Seven p.m. sharp Sunday night. Is that clear, Allen?"

Barry's eyes widened.

"Is that clear?"

Somehow, he found his tongue.

"Never been clearer, sir."

Kevin gestured towards the door.

"Go. Before I change my mind."

Barry scrambled out of the plane as fast as his legs could carry him, and out of the airport somehow even faster. He burst through the hotel room a grand total of twenty minutes later to find a curled up Iris sniffling on his side of the bed.

"Iris!" he announced himself jubilantly, belatedly registering her tears and echoing the crestfallen look on her face.

"Barry?" she asked, confused when he was suddenly beside her. "What are you doing here?"

He grinned slowly, triumphantly.

"I thought…" But she was starting to smile too.

He kissed her, loving the moan it drew out of her and how her fingers tangled in his hair as a result.

"Turns out I have friends in high places," he whispered into her mouth.

She almost cried, instead pulling him onto the bed with one leg wrapped around him.

"I love your friends."


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** I had way too much fun with the cliffy to this chap. Plz don't kill me. I promise I'll complete the scene in the upcoming chapter. Lol.

 ***** Many thanks to **sendtherain** for beta'ing.

 ***** I own nothing. No copyright infringement intended.

* * *

 **Chapter 10 -**

Barry opened his eyes, blinked a few times, and tried to remember where he was at and what day it was; what time would be even better.

One, he was in a room with several other agents, as he observed by forcing himself to look around the room. Two, it was Monday night. Three… He lifted his arm to see the time, then realized his watch was the old-fashioned kind where you had to wind it if you wanted to change it by hours or minutes. He'd neglected to do either when he'd arrived earlier that day, unable to sleep because his mind was still buzzing with _Iris_.

"Do you have to go?" she'd asked, nuzzling close to him on the private plane landing as the wind whipped her hair around her shoulders.

"I want to say no," he returned, warming her back with his hands.

"But you can't." She sighed and pulled back, tears shining in her eyes and the smallest of happy smiles on her face so he wouldn't stay for her. "I understand."

"One month, and it'll be like I never left," he told her.

She swallowed and nodded. "One month."

Thinking back to that memory almost 24 hours prior, Barry wished he could force time to move fast enough for a month to fly by. But of course, maybe that wasn't the best idea either, seeing as he had no idea how he was going to land an assignment back in Central City or even in the U.S. in exactly a month.

He sighed openly, but it was drowned out by other agents chatting with each other, and so his plight was unseen to every person but one – his godsend: Felicity Smoak.

"Hey, handsome." She nudged him after rolling her chair over.

He turned his head and gave her one of the 'handsome smiles' she used to fawn over when he'd first joined the agency.

"How did yesterday with Iris go?" she asked, propping her chin in her hand.

He shrugged.

"Oh, come on. I threatened all manner of nasty things and reminded that asshole of a boss how irreplaceable you are to the team and how you never ask for anything, and-"

"Okay, okay." He allowed himself a laugh. He figured he did owe her something. "It was good, Felicity."

She raised her eyebrows. "Good?"

"Yeah. Good, really good, great. Perfect. A dream."

He's planning on shrugging off the last words as sarcasm, but they across too sincere as they rolled off his tongue.

"A _dream_ , huh?" she teased, leaning closer. She wiggled her eyebrows when he turned to look at her.

"Okay, stop. Stop."

But now he was laughing, and she was grinning like the wise woman that she was, so he couldn't bring himself to berate her more than that.

Even if he had wanted to though, a resounding whoosh silenced everyone in the room. In walked Kevin, his supervisor James, and a few bodyguards. Their presence made it almost seem like the room had gone dark and there was a spotlight on them where they stood on the slightly raised platform, microphones bundled together by their faces.

But of course, that wasn't the case. The lights had not changed, and there was no spotlight. There were no microphones, and the floor they stood on was so slightly lifted that one wouldn't even know it was unless they were walking on it themselves and felt the small ramp beneath their feet.

"Good evening," James – Mr. Olsen – announced. "I hope you've enjoyed your free day on one of London's least rainy days this year." He smiled broadly, trying to evoke laughter maybe but only a few smiles and quiet chuckles emerged from the agents.

Aside from Kevin searching the room for Barry and once he found him, glaring, Barry found himself unmoved by the process. He was annoyed by his boss once again, but damn him if he'd give the pleasure of showing him.

"I must congratulate all of you on our latest mission," Mr. Olsen continued. "I know it was somewhat out of your comfort zones to be pulled from all over the world to conduct this mission, but given how satisfactory an ending it was, I do not regret that choice. I also assure you that there are more than enough assignments to dole out in the coming weeks and even months to make up for one week in Missouri."

He turned to face the man standing slightly behind him.

"Mr. Draeger will tell you more about the future developments of your assignments."

Barry sat up slowly as the start of a cold sweat formed on the back of his neck.

"Thank you, James." Kevin smiled politely then directed his gaze to the people laid out before him.

"As Mr. Olsen said, your assignments have multiplied in number over the last week. In the past we've separated agents in order to get more done faster. After the success of Monday night, however, we – well, I – feel it would be better to form more teams, just with less agents on them. Therefore, unless given special permission, all assignments going forward will be done in teams of three to five individuals. When you receive your assignment, you will also receive who you will be working with and will be given an additional day to get to know each other and who will be operating what part of the mission if you deem it necessary."

Horrified, Barry nearly lifted out of his seat.

"And for those of you," Kevin's gaze landed right on Barry, "Who feel you have a right to continue things as they have always been, this new order be damned, well… We can meet privately and discuss it, but I don't believe you will like the outcome."

Barry leaned back in his seat, his toes digging into the bottom of his shoes as his hands clenched around the arms of his chair. He stared at Kevin long and hard until the man looked away and started addressing questions before leaving with Mr. Olsen and his bodyguards.

Felicity placed her hand over one of his and curled her fingers into his palm.

"It's okay," she whispered, trying to calm him. "You're with me. I told him that's how it's going to be, and he agreed. There might be more people, but it's always going to be you and me, okay?"

Barry nodded once, unable to form words.

Felicity was the only one he trusted in this god-forsaken agency.

He'd always gone it alone.

…

Iris sat, nibbling her bottom lip, as her hands wrapped tightly around the coffee mug she held in her hand. A barista came by to ask if she wanted a refill, and she shook her head, smiling politely just as she had ten minutes ago.

She couldn't believe she was doing this. She hadn't worked at CC Jitters since she'd been working her way through college. Was she really going to come back to it after she'd come so far as a reporter? Just to make ends meet?

 ** _Just_** _, Iris?_

She winced at her inner voice and reminded herself of Patty and what the poor girl was willing to do so that Iris could fight for the job of her dreams. She couldn't let her work herself to death. Police work was no easy thing, and Patty wasn't exactly at the top of the food chain anyway. She could be denied, for all she knew.

No, she needed to do this. She knew how to work at a coffee shop, and she was good at it. She would keep looking for other jobs on the side, but she had to be able to bring in money until that happened. Mrs. Kepper was a friendly employer, and she _loved_ Iris. This was a solid in.

If Iris wanted it.

"Iris? Iris West?"

Iris looked up and saw a familiar face. The corners of her lips tipped up in a smile.

"Stacy?"

Stacy Conwell. Part of the popular crowd with Iris in high school, she hadn't felt the need to work because her father was so wealthy that she wanted for nothing. That was until he informed her that he wasn't planning on paying for her college tuition, and if she hadn't saved any of the money he doled out for her regularly before then, she would have to work to make her way through school.

Stacy had been scandalized, but Iris had easily gotten her a job at Jitters. They'd had fun together throughout college and lost touch after that when Stacy went to follow her dream as a Broadway star in New York City six months after graduation.

Obviously, something had gone wrong because in her hands was clutched a filled-out employee application that nearly mirrored Iris' sitting on her table.

After an affectionate hug, Stacy sat down at the booth across from her and smiled wryly.

"Who thought we'd be back here after all this time?"

Iris shook her head. "Not me."

"We won't be here forever," Stacy quoted. "When we leave, we'll never come back!"

"Unless we want coffee!" Iris faked a giggle and suppressed the tears forming in her eyes.

"Everyone has a breakdown, I suppose," Stacy offered.

"Before the age of _thirty,_ though?"

Stacy winced.

"Please tell me you've been more successful than I have," Iris pleaded.

"Only if being told I can't sing and need acting classes five times in the last year count as success."

"Oh, honey." Iris placed her hand over Stacy's.

"I suppose there's also the five boyfriends I went through in the last two years before that…"

"Please tell me you dumped them."

Stacy sighed and looked out the window.

"If only I'd had the honor."

Iris blew out a puff of air.

"Completely blindsided you?"

"Every. Time." She shook her head. "But enough about me. How's your mom?"

Iris leaned back in her seat. "Not speaking to me."

Stacy's eyes widened. "Still?"

Iris nodded.

"And your dad?"

"He wants to be on my side, but let's be real, he's always been afraid to defy my mother. She's his 'angel' and the 'mother of his children'."

Stacy shook her head in disbelief.

"Should I even ask about Wally?"

Iris shrugged and leaned into her hand propped up on the table.

"Wally doesn't want to get caught in the middle. He's on my side, but he's always been a mama's boy and doesn't want to stop now."

"Damn."

"So!" She straightened and collected her application papers together, summoning courage where there was none, especially given the most recent topic. "Shall we submit these things or what?"

Stacy smiled slowly, amused but also feeling quite the same.

"Let's do it."

The barista at the counter – an girl named Jade with long honey tresses – informed Stacy and Iris that Mrs. Kepper wasn't in today and was in fact taking the rest of the week off.

Iris pouted, but Stacy kept the momentum going by telling Jade thanks and that they'd stop in early next week in case their applications got lost in a stack of papers on their former boss's desk. Jade smiled timidly before addressing a new customer in line.

"Well, that sucks."

"You were expecting her to be in?"

Iris nodded. "She always used to be in on Mondays."

"Yeah…but it's been years, Iris. Literal _years_."

She sighed. "Yeah, I know."

Stacy looped her arm through hers.

"Why don't you let me buy you a beer? We can play some pool or darts, flirt with a cute guy or two-" Her eyes widened when she saw Iris' flustered reaction – how she rubbed her lips together and tucked a few locks behind her ear. "Unless you _have_ a guy you're not telling me about."

"What?" she squeaked. "No-"

"Uh-uh-uh, I know that squeak! You have a boyfriend!"

Now she was really flustered. "It's recent, okay? Like, only in the last week. And long distance to beat."

Stacy sighed contently. "You have a boyfriend. Thank God. It's about time you moved on from that asshole."

Iris gave her a look.

"Who we are not talking about, because we have better news!" She pulled her along down the street to a bar. "Tell me about your boyfriend."

Just as Iris opened her mouth to speak, her phone rang an unfamiliar jingle.

"Oh my God, is that him?" Stacy urged. She tried to look to see what the number was, but Iris pulled it away. "Is he calling from a burner phone?"

Iris frowned. "It's not him."

"Answer the damn thing, Iris. You're paying if I'm right."

Iris rolled her eyes. "It's not him, but _fine_. With the little money I have to my name, I will buy us both drinks if it's him."

Stacy smiled gleefully as Iris turned away from her and walked a few feet before taking the call.

"Hello?"

"What are you wearing?" a male voice asked huskily through the phone.

She gulped, heat filling her face as her panties grew damp.

"Barry?"

She could hear him shuffling around, grunting and huffing as if he was trying to get into position.

"I'm touching myself, Iris."

She braced her hand on the brick wall beside her, her legs suddenly like jelly.

"It's been a rough day, and I need you. Please just…"

Stacy came into view. "Is it him?" she asked, though from the look on Iris' face it was obvious it was.

Iris handed some money over and tried to regain her bearings.

"I'll meet you at Hal's…in let's say half an hour? Will your phone sex be done by then?"

Iris waved her off, but Stacy just chuckled and walked off, probably intending to stick to that non-deal they'd just made.

"Iris?" she heard in her ear, slightly less husky since she hadn't spoken in a while.

"I'm here, Barry." She bit her bottom lip as she snuck into the back alley between buildings a block away. It looked relatively clean and no one was in sight. "I'm in _public_."

She could practically feel his grin through the phone as he purred.

"Tell me what you're wearing."


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:** A commissioned chap by **Jehna** (who also happens to be one of my awesome patrons on - thanks, girl!)

 ***** Many thanks to **sendtherain** for beta'ing.

 ***** I own nothing. No copyright infringement intended.

* * *

 **Chapter 11 -**

Iris could hear her heart pounding in her ears, could feel it bursting out of her chest. The wall behind her helped steady her a little, but her legs still felt very weak. He intoxicated her; made her feel alive and vulnerable all at once. She'd never participated in phone sex before. In fact, she'd been pretty opposed to it every time her ex urged her to do it with him when either of them were out of town. But now, with Barry? She was excited to try.

She licked her lips, assuming Barry wanted her to detail a sexy outfit instead of the attire she currently had on, which was just her normal wear, so she tried to think up something hot. She was delaying though, and she knew it. Her heavy breathing over the phone was probably working him up a little but not enough to keep him from repeating himself.

" _Tell me what you're wearing_."

"I…um…" She gulped. "I'm wearing high heels," she said.

He groaned, and she thought she could hear a zipper. Heat flooded her face and arms, followed by a chill ripping down her spine. She didn't think enough to look, but she was covered in goosebumps.

"What else?"

She looked down at what she was wearing and bit her bottom lip.

"A skirt," she said, pushing past her nerves and slowing down her speech to a sultry tone to turn him on more. "A short, leather one," she paused. "Barely covering my ass."

He shuddered, and she thought she could hear it. Him stroking his cock as he envisioned what she was telling him.

In reality, her skirt reached mid-thigh and her heels weren't that high, but he didn't need to know that. In fact, he appeared to be so turned on by her descriptions, she decided to have a little fun and improvise more.

"My shirt is low-cut," she told him. "Buttons open to reveal a lacy push-up bra. The same one I wore for you the last time we were together."

"Christ, Iris."

"Are you sweating?" she asked, her tone gravelly. Without realizing it, she'd slipped her hand under her skirt and was rubbing herself over her panties.

" _Yes_ ," he ground out.

"Still touching yourself?"

"God, yes." He was stroking himself so fast he was about to cum at any minute.

She waited a bit, then licked her lips and delivered her command.

"Tell me what you're wearing."

"Fuck." He levitated off the bed, so close he could feel it.

"I'm touching myself," she continued, leaning her head back against the brick wall as she let her fingers slip beneath the thin fabric. "God, I'm so wet for you, Barry."

" _Iris_ ," he gasped.

"I'm soaked."

He came, and surprisingly so did she.

She tried to contain the volume of her moan, but it was so sudden that she was certain she could be heard all the way at Hal's, where Stacy was waiting for her.

"Barry?" she asked, when their breathing was almost near normal again.

"Yeah?"

"I miss you."

He sighed, sobering up a bit.

"I miss you, too."

…

Deeply sated, Barry didn't want to move for a month. His semen covered the sheets though, so he knew he'd have to get them replaced. It wouldn't be a problem, given the five-star service of the hotel he was staying at, but it was a bit inconvenient for his current comfort. Still, he reached across the bed for the room phone and made the call for new sheets. He'd step out for about an hour and expect it to be done when he got back.

 _That should be plenty of time_ , he thought to himself, though he was surprised when there was a knock at the door mere seconds after he'd hung up the phone.

Brows furrowed together in confusion, he stood up by the side of the bed and grabbed a silk robe to make his way to the door. He glanced into the peephole and inwardly groaned for another reason.

"Room service," a woman chirped from the other side, in a mockery of role play.

Reluctantly, he opened the door.

"Hi, Sarah."

She was about 5'7" with hazel eyes and fair skin. She was thin, with enough cleavage peeking through her shirt to usually arouse him, and her little butt had been, in the past, a fun thing to slap. The freckles dotting the skin around her nose he'd always found cute too. And her ability to switch to any accent he liked, as well as be quite flexible in bed had him hanging onto her a little longer than the others.

In fact, while he was far from being addicted or infatuated with her, there had been no doubt that they'd pick up where they left off when he returned. A shame then that he'd forgotten all about her the second he laid eyes on Iris.

"Hey, Baby," she said, jumping up onto her tiptoes to peck his lips before he could stop her.

Luckily, she didn't try for more than that and instead pushed her way into the room. She frowned when she saw the evidence of his masturbation on the sheets.

"Now's not really a good ti-"

She spun around and pouted. Something he usually found quite adorable.

"You started without me?"

He took a step towards her, sure to leave the door open as a hint for her to go and slid his hands into the smooth pockets of his robe.

"Started and finished, I'm afraid."

The look on her face was clear disappointment. Barry didn't feel all that bad. For the most part he just wanted her to leave.

"Oh."

A few beats passed before she opened her mouth to speak again. Unfortunately for her, he beat her to it.

"It's over, Sarah."

Her eyes widened and her mouth fell open.

"What?"

"It's over," he repeated.

"But…when you left…"

"That was then. This is now."

She scoffed.

"Have you dropped Amy too? Or Becca?"

"They were one-night stands," he said easily.

"Do _they_ know that?"

He rolled his eyes, his irritation peaking now. He strode across the room to guide her back to the door, much to her disdain.

"Anyone who knows my reputation should know that."

"You slept with me more than once," she barked, then tried to turn on the seduction, sliding her hand down his chest. He stopped her before she got to the belt. "A _lot_ more than once."

He pursed his lips.

"Why did you do that if your reputation is one-night stands?"

He sighed, going for honesty, an idea kind of foreign to him up until recently.

"You were different," he said.

"And talented?" she purred. He grabbed her hand as it started to reach for his neck.

"And talented," he allowed.

"But now I'm not."

"Now you're not."

She looked near tears now. It'd been a while since he'd brought a fling _or_ a one-night stand to tears.

"Look, Sarah-"

"Is there someone new?" she barked.

He sighed.

"There _is_ someone new. Who is she?"

His eyes widened, alarmed. He'd thought Sarah was as emotionally unattached to him as he was to her, but maybe he was wrong?

"That's none of your business."

"Is it Rachel? Alexa? Zia?"

"Sarah-"

"What about _Vicky_?" she spat, and that made him pause.

Vicky was different too, but not in a way he liked. He tried not thinking about her since they'd ended things a year ago. Few other things could inspire hatred in him like the thought of Victoria Fialomo.

"Get out."

Instantly, Sarah regretted her accusation.

"Wait, Barry, I'm so-"

"Go, _now_."

He pushed her into the hall and slammed the door in her face before standing against it, waiting for his heart to stop racing and her to leave. He felt beads of sweat form on his forehead and back of his neck.

He'd been having such a good evening, but now?

He needed to punch something.

…

The raven-haired beauty was sipping her latte, enjoying the sights and sounds of Central City when she spotted the annoying pap, Ned Filligan, bursting out of a back alley with his camera clutched in his hands and giggling like a schoolgirl.

Given his reputation of taking pictures most people could care less about, though they were usually highly embarrassing, she knew he was up to no good. With a sigh and a last sip of her drink, she tossed the cup into the trash and headed for the next intersection he was heading towards, where the light just so happened to turn red after she'd crossed the street.

The hunched over, round-faced, munchkin of a man came to an abrupt halt when he spotted her before him, a look of panic in his eyes. He looked around but found no way out, no open building, no way to cross the street without getting hit by a car, and he knew if he ran back the way he'd come, he'd either run straight into his latest victim or the woman before him would catch him. The latter was practically a certainty. And within the first 50 feet at that.

"Look, I can explain-"

"Explain what?" She snatched the camera out of his hands despite his protests. "That you're catching innocent civilians in their private, most embarrassing moments again with the intention of posting them on your pathetic blog?"

"There's an audience for it!" He insisted, trying to grab his camera back and failing miserably as she held it out of reach and moved it around when necessary.

"What poor soul did you take advantage of this time?"

Her lips parted as she saw his latest set of pictures, and her eyes widened. She looked up at him.

"What are you posting to porn sites now?" She scoffed, disgusted.

"What? No! It's not like-"

"Not like you snuck pictures of a woman masturbating in a back alley?"

He snatched his camera back finally, but not before she'd deleted all the pictures on his camera. The 'delete all' button was a favorite of hers on Ned's camera. She'd used it before.

"No, no, no, no, no!" He tried to scroll through any pictures at all but came up empty. Even the trash option held no recently deleted pictures. He grumbled loudly. "Linda!"

She closed her eyes briefly to avoid spit getting anywhere sensitive. Luckily it didn't land on her lips or anywhere on her face this time.

The light turned green and the white walk sign lit up.

"Have a good day, Ned. Try not to do anything else stupid while I'm around."

Muttering to himself, he turned left and hobbled down that street. Not back towards his recently saved victim, but not following Linda either. Even though he wanted more than anything else to catch _her_ in an embarrassing moment and blast it on his blog.

 _Just imagine_ , he fantasized, humming to himself. _The great sportswriter of Central City Picture News getting caught in the act of something truly humiliating._

Some bigger media outlets might even pick it up!

But he wouldn't risk anything else today. He had bigger problems to deal with than Linda Park's morality being forced upon him in broad daylight.

Like how in the heck he'd have anything to submit to his blog with every single piece of evidence from the last week now deleted off his camera.

 _Damn you, Linda. Damn you._

…

Stacy was smiling like a Cheshire cat when Iris entered Hal's about twenty minutes later. She was trying to hide how she felt, but it was clear as day on her face. Not to anyone else in the bar, of course, but definitely to Stacy, who dropped her chin into her hand propped up on the high table when she saw Iris tucking a few of her locks behind her ears daintily.

Finally, Iris lifted her head and searched the bar until she found Stacy not too far away, waving her fingers flirtatiously and no doubt embarrassing her friend further.

Iris sped-walk across the remaining space and nearly slipped off the stool as soon as she'd gotten onto it.

"So." She cleared her throat. "How long have you been here?"

"A while," Stacy said, unable to wipe the smirk off her face.

"Have you been doing anything?"

"Have _you_?"

Iris' jaw dropped and then she quickly snapped it shut, looking away.

"Look, it's not what you think…"

"Oh, I think it is," she laughed, summoning the bartender for some drinks. "But you can tell me about it later. When you're good and drunk." She accepted the drinks and slid one over to Iris. "From what I can remember, you don't hold your liquor well."

She took a sip of her drink.

"Let's see if that's changed."


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N:** Many thanks to **Jehna** for commissioning and **sendtherain** for beta'ing. :) You guys are awesome!

 ***** I own nothing. No copyright infringement intended.

* * *

 **Chapter 12 -**

He tried to resist. In all honesty, he really did. He'd called her once today already, but she'd been busy. He took that as a sign that he should be doing other things in his free time than calling Iris West. She'd gotten a job – which was great. It wasn't her dream job, but she'd reconnected with old high school friend and she was making enough money to keep up rent. In the week since he'd left her, she'd done so much to improve her life. That was a far cry from the down-in-the-dumps woman he'd first met.

 _Maybe she didn't need him anymore._

He shook his head once to rid himself of that thought. Besides, it didn't matter if she didn't need him. She _wanted_ him, and that was what counted. As long as he was wanted by her, he would keep coming back. Though he didn't know exactly how he was going to accomplish that. His first assignment back in London required a trip to Brazil, then one to Sweden, and in a couple days he'd be heading out to China with the new group of agents he unfortunately was forced to share the mission with.

Chloe was almost always trying to create sexual tension with him where there was none. She was good with a gun and knew when to strike hard on their missions though, so he bit his tongue during their free time, especially when she was drunk because then she was extra frisky. Hunter stepped in where he hadn't, though, taking Chloe to bed once. It was a relief for Barry because the older agent had bullied him from the get-go, even when it didn't make sense. But due to his late arrival and some of the other guys overhearing Felicity go at it with their boss the night the rest of them left Central City, rumor of Barry actually caring about his latest sexual conquest had reached Hunter's ears, and now he was relentless. Not only did he badger him relentlessly about his late-night phone sex with Iris, but he regularly threw what he considered Barry's type into his face in an effort to get him to succumb.

"No way a playboy like you could just flip his switch overnight, Allen," he'd sneered. "You can't tell me you're not at least a _little_ tempted."

Barry said nothing, because he had 'flipped his switch', as Hunter said, and he wasn't tempted. It only made him want Iris more and be irritated that he couldn't be with her right that second.

Unfortunately for him, Hunter was one of the best agents, and Kevin had pulled him aside after the initial meeting to inform there would be no more favors on his behalf, no matter who came to intimidate him. That meant he was stuck with Hunter until further notice, and God, that made his blood boil. If it hadn't been for Felicity helping him unwind whenever he wasn't talking to Iris, he might actually go crazy. Which was something that would've seemed impossible before he met Iris. But now he felt things. He wasn't a robot when the missions concluded. He could feel the intensity of his emotions in all aspects of his life, and he knew Iris was responsible. Sometimes it was problematic when it came to more negative emotions, but mostly it was good. Hell, mostly it was great. He couldn't bring himself to admit it quite yet, but after one week with Iris and one week without her, he knew he'd fallen in love with her.

Alone now in his room, Barry pulled out his burner phone and dialed her number. He couldn't wait any longer. The need was too great. He only hoped she would be awake and unoccupied and that she would want to talk to him. Because he needed to talk to her. He was desperate to hear her voice again. It didn't even have to be sexual. It could just be…Iris.

"Hey, Babe," were the first words he heard on the other end. They were definitely coming from Iris' mouth. All his blood raced straight below his belt, despite any attempt to stop it.

Her voice was raspy – probably from sleep, but that didn't matter. He wasn't sure he'd ever get used to her pet names for him. The sound of them on her tongue was an aphrodisiac to him. He felt like he belonged to her. Like he was chained to her and expected to do anything she asked of him, not that it would be a problem.

"Iris," he breathed, content and aroused simultaneously.

"Is something wrong?" she asked, and it sounded like she was moving around. "You sound…strange."

He was amused at her innocence, even after all the sex they'd had.

"I'm all right," he assured her.

"But-"

"I just miss you."

There was a long pause before she concluded in a higher-pitched tone, "In more ways than one?"

He grinned slowly. "You know me so well." He licked his lips. "And I know you."

Iris could barely breathe. "What makes you say that?"

"You're wet," he said, waiting a bit for the lustful statement to sink in. "Aren't you?"

"I…uh…just got out of the shower."

He smirked. "Maybe an hour ago. You were sleeping. I woke you up." He was only slightly upset with himself over that.

"Fine, you're right. I was sleeping, and now I'm soaked. _Thanks_ for that."

He chuckled. "You're welcome."

"When are you coming back?"

He sighed, his heart aching again.

"You know when, Iris."

"I know, but I don't like it. Do I have to like it?"

"Hell, no," he said, equally annoyed with the time frame. "If I could race over to you right now, I'd do it faster than you could blink. I want to be with you, Iris. More than anything."

She shivered deliciously.

"I miss you, Barry."

"I miss you, Iris." He sighed. "At least we have this though, right? I'm already going crazy without being able to see you every day. If I couldn't talk to you either, I-"

"I know. Me too."

He waited a beat, then said, "Tell me about your day."

She scrunched up her nose. "Really? You want to hear about girl talk and working in a coffee shop?"

"Hey, don't knock coffee shops. There's a reason people cram into those places every morning at seven am."

"To be annoying?"

"To buy your very delicious product."

"I suppose that's true…"

"And uh, this girl talk…does it involve me? Do you talk about how _irresistible_ I am?"

Iris' face burned. Barry grinned shamelessly.

"Then I definitely need to know."

…

Two days later on her day off, Iris found herself sitting at the little white kitchen table in the apartment she shared with Patty and staring out the window, nostalgic for days gone by when a mysterious stranger would buy her lunch and then show her the world, making him indeed the most irresistible thing that had ever happened to her.

The days were ticking by so slowly, and the hours and minutes even more. Every second lasted longer than a lifetime. It was driving her insane how slow time went when she had to nothing to make herself busy with. Stacy was working today, and Patty was in the middle of a gripping true crime novel in the other room. Obviously, Barry wasn't here, and she had no way to contact him. She could only wait for his call like a star-crossed lover waiting for her Romeo to call upon her.

It sucked.

A content sigh and a slight bounce alerted Iris to Patty's presence coming into the kitchen.

"Good book?" Iris asked, taking a sip of the coffee she'd made herself that hadn't really turned out that great.

"Great book," Patty said cheerfully. "I totally saw the ending coming, because… I'm smart like that."

Iris suppressed a snort from the dorkiness.

"Or because you'd read it before," she muttered under her breath.

"What?" Patty asked, and Iris smiled serenely as she turned to face her roommate.

"Nothing."

Patty looked at her curiously then turned away.

"So, what are you up to on your day off?" she asked, pulling out the ingredients to make some tea on the stove. "You can't tell me after five days on your feet, all you want to do is stare blankly out the window with a bad cup of coffee."

She gasped, mortified by her blunt statement. Patty was rarely mean, and her M.O. was to be subtle when she shared a different or possibly inconsiderate opinion, not…well, not blunt.

"I mean…with a cup of coffee." She laughed nervously, then cleared her throat, suddenly weak in the knees.

Iris couldn't help but laugh.

"It's okay, Patty. You're right. My coffee-making skills suck."

"I didn't mean-"

Iris turned to look at her. Patty's brows were fused together, creating a worried line in her forehead, and her bottom lip was trembling.

"Patty. My feelings aren't hurt."

She eyed her suspiciously, relaxing some.

"You're fine," Iris said. "Just… come sit with me."

She pulled out the chair next to her and Patty sat in it, glancing back only once at the stove, unsure if she should leave the water alone as it warmed to a boil.

"You're three feet away," Iris deadpanned when Patty sat down, and the latter made an effort to shrug her worries off.

"You're right. I know. Sorry."

"Don't be sorry. Just…relax."

"I just want you to feel comfortable. I want you to know how much I appreciate you getting a job so fast. I want this to work between us. I don't want to mess that up because I…kicked you out."

"With good reason," Iris said. "You kicked me out with good reason." She dropped her chin into her palm planted near her face. "Tell me about your book."

Patty licked her lips. "I read it before."

Iris' lips twitched. "Over Christmas, right?"

She nodded.

"Well, tell me again. I'm sure I've forgotten."

And Patty almost did. She almost went into a full-fledged, enthusiastic paraphrase of what had happened in the book that took her five hours to read from cover to cover. But she'd managed to get out of her own head long enough to realize she was being ridiculous and there was something else at play here.

"You miss him, don't you?"

Iris' face fell.

"That's not…"

"I know I'm no Stacy, but since she's busy…"

"Patty, I don't want to burden you. I'm trying to make things right."

"And you are. So, indulge me. You've hardly spoken about him to me since the first time at the hotel."

She sighed.

"I know, I know…I was a little judgy at first…"

Iris raised one eyebrow.

"Okay, a lot. The guy has a criminal background. You were vulnerable after I…after you…when we-" She cleared her throat. "Was I supposed to jump up and down in excitement?"

Iris folded her arms.

"But, I see how miserable you are without him. Real life fairytale or not, he makes you happy. So tell me about him. More than you already have."

Iris debated for a while, then licked her lips.

"Well, he's tall and handsome, incredibly sexy. He's got these eyes that you can just fall into and his lips are just- and you wouldn't think it when he has a shirt on, but underneath –"

"Okay, okay, stop!" Patty held up her hands, laughing. "I guess this topic really is more of a Stacy thing, huh?"

Iris laughed with her, then patted her hand.

"I appreciate the effort."

She stood to her feet and Patty frowned.

"Are you going somewhere?"

"I think I'm going to head over to Jitters, catch Stacy on her break."

"I didn't…say anything wrong… Did I?"

"Not a thing, dear." She picked up her purse and slid it over her shoulder. "It's a beautiful day, so I'm going to take a walk. My destination will be Jitters, so I'll chat a bit with my girl, Stace, and then come back. We can have a movie night. How's that?"

Patty lit up. "I like that."

"Just…not another murder mystery, okay?"

Patty frowned.

"I like them as much as the next girl, but let's live up to gender stereotypes for once and watch a romantic comedy. A classic. Something that guys roll their eyes at because it's so typical."

Patty thought about it for a while.

"The Notebook?"

"That could work. Or…"

"Or what?"

"Think longer. A period piece. Devastatingly beautiful."

Patty was confused again. "I don't-"

"I'll be back later. If you haven't figured it out, The Notebook will do."

"But I-"

"Bye, Patty!" She waved her hand and giggled as she went through the door, leaving her roomie dumbfounded and slightly unsettled.

"Think…longer…" Patty mumbled to herself. "Think… Longer." She bit her bottom lip, dashed into the other room to look through their DVD collection, and almost – _almost_ – forgot about the boiling water on the stove.

…

Jitters was bustling with customers when Iris walked through the door 20 minutes later. She could see Stacy and Jade hard at work behind the counter. She didn't think this was a busy time for the coffee shop, but after a quick glance at the clock on the wall, she could see that it was. She wondered if this had been a bad idea. Just as she contemplated leaving though, Stacy caught her eye and smiled, and she knew it was worth it.

She took a seat in their booth – the one she and Stacy always sat in when on break or off the clock – and waited the remaining five minutes Stacy had before taking a break. She turned to look out the window, which had a very different visual than the one at her apartment. People walked by quickly here, and cars drove even faster, speeding to get to the next light, the next intersection, before the car beside them or the people walking on the sidewalk. The sun streamed down through the trees though, casting a magical glow on those who walked through it, and Iris found herself smiling.

She was glad she had left the apartment. There was nothing wrong with the place and certainly nothing wrong with Patty, but something made her feel at home about Jitters, and with Stacy she felt free to say anything, be unfiltered, stay out late and make reckless decisions. Patty was a grown-up in a lot of ways. She was a stickler for the rules. While that was a presence Iris definitely wanted in her life, sometimes she just wanted to gush with Stacy over how big Barry's cock was and how he could make her cum without even touching her during phone sex. Stacy brought out the raw side of her, and right now, that was who she wanted to be.

What seemed like seconds later, Stacy collapsed on the other side of the booth and tossed her apron beside her.

"Whew, what a rush. And not in a good way." She took a sip of her ice water.

"That bad?" Iris asked, feeling bad for fantasizing about Barry when Stacy was just barely holding it together.

"Jade's going home early."

Iris' eyes bulged, then she looked up at the beautiful, frazzled girl behind the counter, trying desperately to keep up with customers' orders and get them done as quickly as possible.

"What? In the middle of a rush?"

"She's staying till I finish my break, but apparently she's feeling 'sick' and needs to go home to rest."

"Why can't she rest on the couch in the back room during her lunch and then be ready to go after that?"

Stacy shrugged. "She's a quiet, shy girl. I think she's just overwhelmed. Also…I may have sympathized with her and said you could probably cover her shift so you and I could work together."

Iris' jaw dropped.

"You didn't."

"If you don't want to work, it's totally cool, but what would you rather do? Get stuff done with me behind the counter or sit here and wait till I get off?"

"I could take a nap," she pointed out.

"Something you could've done at the apartment if you really wanted to, and you know it."

Iris sighed dramatically. "Fine. But you owe me drinks after."

"Of course. You paid the tab last time." She winked, and Iris flushed.

How could she forget? It was the first time she'd had phone sex with Barry.

"You owe me big time," Iris said after they'd both donned their aprons and Jade made a mad dash for the door, stopping at the trashcan by the window to vomit into it.

Iris wrinkled her nose.

"Maybe she really is sick," Stacy commented, and shared a smile with Iris. The bell over the door caught her attention though, and she stuck Iris on a register while she prepared the drinks of a new oncoming rush.

Two, three, four customers in, Iris was getting into the swing of things. Working for three hours wouldn't be too bad anyway. Then they could go out, someplace where they could sit outside and just enjoy being young and legal.

"What can I get for you?" Iris asked the next person in line.

She was a petite brunette with a cute smile and confident attitude, looked like she was in college maybe, Iris contemplated as she rattled off her order. Then the brunette turned around, looking for someone presumably.

"And my boyfriend will have… Babe, what do you want?"

And his voice hit Iris like a ton of bricks. He didn't register her at first, and not even Stacy realized that her best friend was shaking. Not right off the bat. But then she said his name, and it was all over.

"Wally?" She rasped.

He couldn't even pretend he didn't know. It was clear that he did. His girlfriend looked between the two of them unsure whether to be jealous or just curious.

"Do you two kno-"

"Iris."

"Wally."

"Oh, my God," came Stacy's voice behind Iris, finally realizing what was going on.

"I didn't think you worked here anymore," Wally said, his voice turning a little cold. "I thought you were…fired."

Iris held her tongue, didn't want to say not from here to make matters worse.

"It's recent," she said instead.

"Uhhh, Wally?" asked his girlfriend, eager to be in the loop. He blinked and registered her again.

"Oh, shit, I'm sorry. Jesse, this is my sister, Iris. Iris, this is my girlfriend, Jesse."

A million thoughts had to be racing through that girl's head, but Iris knew what she'd be thinking.

 _Ah. So,_ _ **that's**_ _the black sheep_.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N:** And here I come again with some updates. I hope you enjoy them!

 ***** Many thanks to **sendtherain** for beta'ing.

 ***** I own nothing. No copyright infringement intended.

* * *

 **Chapter 13 -**

The tension between the four of them could be cut with a knife. Iris stayed staring at her brother, and Jesse didn't know which one to look at or which choice would be more dangerous in the end. Stacy stood her ground by Iris, ready to defend her if any more accusations came her way, but inevitably there were complaints from the customers behind Wally and Jesse in line, so she had to open another register and start taking orders.

"What are you doing here?" Iris asked finally, not accusatory, almost scared.

Wally raised his eyebrows, coldly amused.

"I mean…" Iris cleared her throat. "I haven't seen you in Central City in years."

Regrettably, Jesse blushed.

"That…would be on me."

Iris switched her gaze to the pretty girl next to her brother, waiting for more of an explanation.

"It's not your fault, Jesse," Wally said, though he was barely looking at her. "You didn't know. Hell, I didn't know, or I would've suggested someplace else."

Iris felt as if he'd kicked her in the gut. The fact that he would've gone to such lengths just to avoid seeing her hurt like nothing else. The last time they'd spoken he'd at least sympathized with her. But now it felt like he was on the verge of telling her to go to hell.

" _Wally_ ," Jesse scolded, and Iris was grateful. She felt some hope rise within her.

Wally, to Iris' great surprise, didn't come back with anything. He actually looked down for a moment, as if embarrassed.

Iris wanted to talk to him one-on-one, see what had changed. But she couldn't do that in the middle of a rush the first week back at her old job. Instead, she summoned all the courage she could muster and returned to a topic that she hoped was safer.

"Well, there's no need to go anywhere else," she said. "The least I can do is take your orders and give you a quality drink."

She looked at Jesse who offered a smile and dared to tease Wally.

"Whatever else you think of me, you can't say I don't make one hell of a latte."

Wally looked at her and nodded.

"Okay."

Jesse looked at him and waited for him to say what he was going to order, but he didn't so much as look at the menu and Iris was already pressing buttons on the register.

"Wally?"

He sighed and reluctantly said, "She knows what I like."

Jesse gave him a curious look, but he said nothing more. After he'd paid, ignoring Iris' slightly slumped shoulders when he pulled out cash and then changed to a credit card so he could avoid touching her, Jesse gave him a stern look that he purposefully ignored. Instead, he guided her to the far side of the counter where they'd await their drinks from the blonde standing next to her who had gone through the rest of the customers that had been standing in line.

After Wally and Jesse had left and the rush had calmed down some, Stacy came to stand beside Iris who was just barely holding it together.

"Hey, girl, how are you holding up?" she asked, wrapping an arm around her waist.

Iris sighed shakily. "Like I'm going to break if I think too hard or stop…being busy."

"Maybe you _need_ a break," she suggested.

"Uh…did you not hear what I just said? A break will probably make me start crying, and…I don't know if I'll be able to stop."

"What if you called Barry? Talk about it with him?"

"Oh, God, no."

Stacy frowned. "Why not?"

"We _just_ started dating, Stace. He doesn't know the whole story, and I don't want him to. Not yet." She sighed again. "I'm just…going to have to get through this one on my own."

"Not on your own." She pulled her closer. "You've still got me."

Iris forced a smile. "Thanks. I appreciate that, but…"

Stacy shook her head. "Why don't you do refills. I'll clean up back here, and by the time we're both done, I'm sure there will be a heap of new customers here to make us lose our minds in how the hell we got so many menu items that are so different, and yet…so the same."

Iris laughed, and Stacy smiled.

"That sounds absolutely wonderful."

Stacy kissed the side of her forehead and released her.

"Go get 'em, Babe."

Iris ducked her head with a little smile and then grabbed the pitcher of coffee to start making the rounds.

…

They rounded the block for the third time. Just like every time before, whenever they passed Jitters, Wally made a point to only look straight ahead. He would not look inside to see if his sister was still there. He would _not_.

Jesse, however, was no idiot. And even if she had been slightly out of the loop, she figured out exactly what was going on when her boyfriend nearly crushed her hand in his grip whenever they went by the coffee shop. Not only that, but Wally's jaw locked, and he ground his teeth. All of these things abruptly stopped when they turned the corner.

She hadn't made a single comment about it, but enough was enough. They didn't talk about his family much because she knew it was hard for him to talk about, and a lot of the time she was a distraction for him, so he didn't have to think about it. She was glad she could be that for him, but there was a point when things had to be discussed. Plus, if she took one more walk around this particular block, she thought she might just go crazy.

"You know, if you want to go in and talk to her, I don't think there are many customers right now."

"Talk to who?" he asked, his grip growing tighter.

"Ow!"

He stopped and looked down at what he'd done to his girlfriend's hand. Immediately, he released her.

"Oh, God, sorry, Jess. I didn't mean to-"

"I know," she said, immediately flexing her fingers. "Your body's acting on its own involuntarily." She massaged her hurting hand with the other. "It's because you're not dealing with your feelings, so your body is taking matters into its own hands."

He took her hands into his and kissed each one.

"How'd you get so smart?"

"Psychology major, remember?"

"Ah, yeah, that's right…and a genius father who hates my guts."

She rolled her eyes. "My dad hates everyone. It's in his DNA. You're lucky all I got from him is his brain, or I'd probably be intolerable."

He smirked and leaned in to kiss her. "Lucky me."

She savored the kiss for a moment more, the heat ever-present between them before returning to the original topic.

"So, as I was saying, your body is-"

But he cut her off.

"I know something else my body could be doing right now," he teased with a grin.

She barked a laugh and shook her head.

"That was a switch."

He shrugged and looked at her with a boyish charm. She linked her arm through his and crossed the street with him when the walk sign lit up.

"Why are we crossing?" he asked, confused.

"Because we went around that block three times, Wally West. And if you refuse to admit you want to make things right with your sister, the least you can do is take me down another block."

He smiled. "Yes, ma'am."

It wasn't the end to the conversation she'd wanted, but she knew she'd get no more out of him right now. He didn't do well when pushed. Hell, neither did she. But the hurt look on Iris' face was eating at her. She didn't know the girl at all, but she doubted she was as bad as Wally let on. From the six months they'd been dating, Jesse had learned a few things about Wally West. One was that the things that made him the angriest, that he projected onto others, he usually at least partially blamed himself for.

That left two options on the table. Either Wally blamed himself for Iris' actions or he blamed himself for the way the family had basically driven her away. And Jesse, well, as fond as she was of Wally, she wasn't about to let him brood over this when it could be fixed. He'd thank her later.

At least, she hoped he would. Regardless, she needed the whole story.

…

Barry stared at his phone and wondered if there was something wrong with it.

He'd been trying to get a hold of Iris all day. While he missed her every day, today was particularly lonesome because he'd finished up his latest assignment and was free both today and tomorrow. His body was aching for her. His heart was aching for her. His mind was aching for her. His soul was aching for her. It was unlike anything he'd experienced since his parents died his first year in the military. Or, that's what the organization called themselves.

Later down the line he'd have it drilled into him that he'd been taken advantage of, and he shouldn't blame himself. He was living a better life now. But wasn't he being taken advantage of by that person even now? Wasn't he just being passed from one organization to the next, each one claiming to be the right one, the "good" people he should be "proud" to work for?

He'd heard it all before, and no matter what anyone said, he just knew his parents would be so ashamed of him. And beyond that, he knew if he'd been home, they wouldn't have died. His martial arts skills would've stopped that robber in the night, and he'd have him pinned to the floor and arrested in seconds. Instead, the robber was never caught because there had been no witnesses and no real evidence in the aftermath.

It made Barry so angry inside, and for so long he'd used that anger to hurt nameless, faceless people. They had to be that way to him, or the guilt would build up even more. He shut down emotionally. He didn't feel love and he didn't feel pain. There was only the job.

It took Felicity a full year to break through that hard exterior, and even she hadn't broken through the hardest parts. Yet somehow, despite lying to her occasionally, as most spies needed to for those in their families uninvolved with that part of their life, Iris had broken through all of it. She'd shattered that exterior, so all his soft parts glowed brilliantly and came alive. And damn, if it wasn't the best feeling he'd felt in the longest time.

So, he didn't give up.

He dialed her number again and waited.

This time she picked up.

"Hello?"

Her voice sounded off, sad maybe, or tired. But he couldn't concentrate on that immediately, because all he knew was that she had answered.

"Iris!"

His excitement burst through the line, causing a genuine giggle out of her.

"Hi, Barry."

"You picked up!" he informed her gleefully, but much to his disappointment that comment brought the return of her saddened/exhausted tone of voice.

"Yeah…I'm sorry about that, Barry. Today has been…well, it hasn't been good."

His face fell. "Tell me about it. What happened?"

She sighed. "I don't…really want to talk about it."

"Iris."

"I know you want to help, Barry. I know. And I appreciate it. But this is just…this is _family_ stuff."

Barry felt as if he'd gotten a blow to the chest.

 _Family stuff._

She hadn't meant to wound him, but she had. Unintentionally, of course.

Because he didn't have a family anymore, and after her mere presence had revealed his softer side, he didn't like being reminded of that fact.

But she was oblivious to his inner struggle.

"Can we just…talk about something else?" she asked on a sad sigh.

And he wanted so badly to give her what she wanted, but he couldn't just…switch like that. Not when his walls had all fallen down, not when he'd _just_ been thinking about the sad fate of his own family.

But still, he tried. For her.

"I understand," he said, and he really tried to. "What would you like to talk about instead?"

She sighed. "I don't know… Just, not that."

He fought to think of something else. He didn't want their conversation to be over, no matter how many feelings were buzzing through him right now. This is not what he wanted their one interaction today to be about.

"I love you, Iris."

Static filled the line, and he wondered if she hadn't heard him, and maybe he shouldn't have said it over the phone an ocean away. But he missed her, and he wanted her, and he wanted to help her, to make everything better. And he was so sure now, positive, and he wanted her to know.

But maybe it was too soon.

The line cleared up.

"Barry? Are you there?"

 _She hadn't heard._

"Uh, yeah? I'm here."

"Did you hear the static?"

His head was spinning, but he forced himself to answer her question.

"Yeah. What's the last thing you heard?"

"I think we were trying to come up with a topic?"

"Oh." He paused. _She hadn't heard it_. "Right."

"You said something after that, but I couldn't make it out. Can you say it again?"

He cleared his throat.

"Right. I…uh, just said that I miss you."

She crumbled on the other end.

"Oh, Barry, I miss you too."


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N:** Enjoy! This chap is a good one.

 ***** Many thanks to **sendtherain** for beta'ing.

 ***** I own nothing. No copyright infringement intended.

* * *

 **Chapter 14 -**

So. Barry Allen loved her.

It had been three days since he heartachingly declared it right before the static hit, and for the last three days she'd been pretending not to have heard it.

She didn't know _why_ she did. After the miserable day she'd had, those words said so sweetly and sincerely had made her heart flutter. And, okay, maybe part of her wanted to hear them again. So, when he changed his tune to 'miss' instead of 'love' immediately after, she started to get worried.

Did he regret saying it? Did he just wish he had said it in person, and that's why he didn't repeat himself? Maybe he didn't love her after all, and the excuse of static gave him exactly what he needed to take it back.

If he wanted to. Did he want to?

All signs pointed to a yes.

But after two days of moping around, Stacy decided to set Iris straight.

"Maybe he's just as scared as you are," she suggested, taking a bite out of an apple.

"Scared?" Iris scoffed. "I'm not _scared_."

Stacy gave her a look.

"I'm _not_."

"Oh, no, of course not. Just your brother came in a few days ago, and, you know, you thought he was at least kind of on your side. Turns out he's not, and he may be even more anti-Iris than your parents. Why in the world would that make you afraid to love someone?"

"I love _you_ , Stace," she said defiantly.

"And I appreciate that, darling." She patted her shoulder. "True besties are hard to come by."

"Mhmm. See!"

"But we've never really had any problems with each other."

Iris sighed. "That's true."

"Meanwhile, you and your brother are having problems, and you guys were thick as thieves once upon a time. He defended you to your parents in the beginning, remember?"

She nodded forlornly. "I remember."

"And Barry? He is a mystery. You two just met a week and a half ago. He won't tell you exactly where he is or what he does for a living, and he goes and gets beat up in the middle of the night? I'd be hesitant to tell him I love him back too."

Iris' eyes widened, and she turned to face her friend.

"Wha-? But I…I don't-"

Stacy gave her a sympathetic look.

"Honey, please. It's written all over your face."

Iris' shoulders slumped.

"I'm that obvious?"

"It's not a bad thing," she hurried to say, and Iris raised her brows. "I mean, only if you don't want him to know. You still have two and a half weeks to work on hiding it if you're really sure you're not ready for that yet."

Iris sighed. "I don't know what I want."

Stacy looped her arm through hers.

"I think you do, Hun." She paused. "And I think he wants it too."

"Then why did he take it back?" she exploded, throwing her arms around.

"Maybe the same reason you pretended you didn't hear it?"

"What does he have to be scared of?" she demanded.

"Well, that's just it, isn't it? You don't know, because you hardly know him. Maybe you should talk about it, have a conversation the next time you actually see him. Do something other than have sex."

Heat flooded her face.

"That's not _all_ we do."

Stacy chuckled. "I'm just saying."

Iris thought about it for a minute.

"Won't that ruin our first I love you, though? If we have a long conversation, decide we're both scared and we're not going to say it yet, isn't it going to be awkward until we do? And when we do?"

"Only if you let it be."

She grumbled. "Ugh. I hate this. I shouldn't have pretended I didn't hear it. Now everything's ruined."

Stacy rolled her eyes. "Everything is not ruined. Why don't you have phone sex tonight? That'll help you blow off some of your steam. If the chemistry's still there, you have nothing to worry about."

"And if it isn't?"

Stacy smirked and wrapped an arm around her best friend.

"Trust me, it will be."

…

Due to the time difference, it was almost morning when his call to Iris turned into phone sex.

Things had felt a little awkward over the last few days, so when Iris jumped in wanting phone sex as soon as he said his hello, he decided not to question it.

"Where are you?" he asked huskily, pulling his tie free from his neck in his room as he talked to her.

"In my bedroom," she said, twirling a lock of her hair around her finger like a schoolgirl, though he couldn't see it. It was all about getting into character.

"Are you alone?"

"Patty's in the kitchen reading a book. I'll have to be quiet."

He grinned mischievously. "Is that so?"

Patty wasn't in the kitchen. She'd been called in for a late shift at the last minute and still hadn't come home. But Barry didn't need to know that.

"Mhmm." She bit her bottom lip. "Any other questions?"

He chuckled, and it was the sexiest sound she'd ever heard.

"What are you wearing?"

"What do you think?"

"Some lacy lingerie? Either white, black, or red?"

She laughed. "Only if you give it to me."

"Oh, I'll give it to you." His voice turned dark. "Tell me what you're wearing."

"Nothing."

That much was true. It felt a little scandalous, even if she was alone in the apartment, but Iris was stripped down to her bare bottom and lying across her bed with the door to her bedroom locked and the drapes hanging over her windows down.

"With Patty just down the hall?" he asked, his voice a little strangled.

He had definitely bought into her little white lie, and she smiled. There was no way she'd ruin the fantasy at this point and tell him she wasn't as brave as she'd portrayed herself to be.

"I wish you were here, Barry," she whimpered, trailing her fingers down her belly to play with herself.

He groaned and did the same thing. "Me too."

"I wish you were touching me, kissing me, making love to me…"

She gasped, and loudly too, but he was apparently too lost in the moment to notice the reaction she'd had to her own turn of phrase. Maybe he thought the gasp had been caused from something else. Her touching herself maybe, which was valid.

She decided to be grateful he hadn't noticed the significance and put it out of her mind, which was difficult given part of her wished he _had_ noticed it. Maybe then he could've prompted the conversation and told her he loved her again. If he still did, of course. He loved her body, at least. Maybe he didn't know her well enough to know if he loved her. Maybe that's what he'd realized over the last few days. God, what if he never said it again?

"Iris?" he asked, sounded concerned and confused, and she realized he'd been saying something to her – probably something dirty – and she'd been so lost in her insecurities and paranoia that she hadn't registered it at all.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Barry, what did you say?"

She could practically feel the frown on the other end of the line and knew the mood had been killed.

"Oh, nothing much…just that I also touching you, kissing you, and making love to you," he said dryly.

There was that word again. _Love_.

"But somehow I don't think it would feel quite as potent if I said it again."

She sighed. "I'm sorry, Barry. I guess I'm just-"

"Tired? It is pretty late by you."

That was as good a reason as any.

"Yeah, talk to you tomorrow?"

And there was a very long pause after that. She wondered if he hadn't expected her to cut the phone call short so suddenly. To be honest, she hadn't expected it either until it happened.

"Sure," he finally said, what felt like a millennia later. "Sweet dreams, Iris."

"Sweet dreams," she said, and hung up the phone.

Annoyed with herself and her failings, she got out of bed to put her pjs back on and tried with all that was in her to fall back asleep.

At 2 a.m. she called Stacy and confessed her sins.

"You did _what_?"

…

Later that day – Barry's time – he sat practically twiddling his thumbs in the main quarters of the agency. He'd been trying to figure out for the last several hours what had gone wrong in his conversation with Iris, but nothing was dawning on him.

It bothered him a lot that things were already started to go wrong, communication-wise, when they were apart. If things got any worse, Iris wouldn't even want to be in a relationship with him by the time they saw each other again.

He needed to fix this, and fast. He couldn't afford to sit around for two more weeks waiting for her to get over whatever was holding her back that she was only too eager not to tell him about.

"Assignments!"

Ah, yes, new assignments. There had been a couple days break, but now it was time to get back to work. Which meant he'd have less time to talk to Iris and even more space between them. He hated it, but he didn't exactly have a choice, so with one barely attentive ear he listened for whatever case sounded the most interesting.

Number one through three were duds, number four through six required too much physical activity and were on the other side of the world. But number seven, that struck his attention as soon as he found out where it was located.

Barry's eyes widened, and he was across the room in a matter of seconds, sending papers flying around the circle of people eager to take their assignments.

"Central City, Sir? Did you say Central City?"

The Captain's eyes narrowed, but he nodded.

"Yes, Allen. Central City."

"I'll take that one." He paused to take a breath. "Sir. Please."

The Captain raised his eyebrows.

"Why so eager, Bartholomew?"

Barry opened his mouth to explain, but there was no need.

"That's where his _girlfriend_ lives," snickered Hartley. Barry glared.

"That wouldn't be the same 'girlfriend' who was the source of all your inappropriate behavior last time, would it? The initial target?"

Barry paled.

"I think that's a yes, Cap," Hunter gleamed.

"I learn from my mistakes," Barry said, pushing his way past the pests trying to pull him down. "Just give me 24 hours to spend however I want, and I will get the job done without involving any civilians."

"Including Iris West?"

Barry nodded, determined. "I swear."

He gave him a once-over then nodded his approval.

"Hope she's worth it," another not so friendly agent jeered as Barry pushed past the lot of them.

It wouldn't do any good to respond, but he knew his response with all his heart.

 _She is._

…

At Jitters, exactly two weeks from when Barry left, Iris found herself sighing for the umpteenth time.

Stacy immediately sidled up next to her and took the broom from her hands.

"What are you sighing about this time?"

Iris shrugged, walking across to an empty table to wipe it down. Stacy followed her without hesitation.

"We have exactly two customers right now, and they're both occupied in the far corners of the room. You have twenty minutes until you get off. You should be ecstatic."

"Ecstatic about what?" she asked, halfheartedly washing down the next table. "About another failed conversation with Barry?"

"It wasn't that bad," Stacy tried delicately.

"It was a disaster!" Iris proclaimed. "I zoned out while he was talking dirty to me. How much worse can it get?"

"I'll admit it's not your best moment, but-"

"But what? We're never going to last another two weeks if I can't get a hold of myself and function. I love him, Stace. I know it's been only two weeks, but I just…I feel a connection with him that goes beyond the physical, and I-" She stopped when she noticed Stacy staring off into the distance. "What?"

She turned to look in said direction and found herself dumbfounded, only able to say one thing.

"We've got to get those bells fixed."

Stacy smiled to herself and took the wet rag and the broom with her as she backed out of sight.

"Barry?" Iris whispered, her eyes filling with tears.

He stood there just inside the opening with a beautiful bouquet of multicolored roses.

"I really hope you were talking about me," he said, grinning as he walked towards her.

"Oh, my God! Barry!"

She ran towards him, jumped into his arms and gloried in the feel of him as she buried her face in his neck. Then she pulled back a little, smiling brilliantly, and kissed him.

She gloried in the feel of his arms around her and his lips against her, his breath on her skin when they parted and the beautiful glint of gold in his glorious green eyes.

"I missed you," she said when he finally set her down and let her take the flowers, inhaling them instantly and practically purring at the pretty scent of them. "I missed you a lot."

"Me or the roses?" he joked, and she opened her eyes to look at him.

"Barry."

He sobered up. "Iris…there's something I need to tell you, and I need you to let me, and I need there to be no interruptions."

She tensed. "Okay."

"Can we go somewhere…?"

"Uh…"

"The rooftop!" Stacy whisper-yelled from behind the counter.

Barry and Iris caught each other's gaze and laughed.

"The rooftop it is," Barry said and took her hand in his own.

Iris' shook her head at Stacy as they passed her, but Stacy pretended to be fascinated with the cash register and didn't catch the embarrassed look on Iris' face. She probably thought she was doing it for her own good, so she let it go. Especially when Barry stopped them halfway up the stairwell to kiss her.

"Your lips taste delicious," he said, and she melted into goo.

"God, I've missed you."

"I've missed you more," he said, then kissed her cheek and pulled her the rest of the way up the stairs.

He pushed the door open and gasped almost the same time she did at the sight of the city before them.

"Well, it's no hotel view, but it is pretty spectacular."

Iris nodded her agreement and only very reluctantly looked away from him when he tugged at her hand.

"What…uh did you want to tell me?" she asked when he simply just stared at her for a while, eyes soft and yearning, smile gentle and concerning.

"Promise you won't run away from me? There's no phone you can hang up this time, and I bet I can beat you to the door if you try to make a mad dash for it. My legs are long, you see."

" _Barry_."

"Okay, okay…" He tightened his grip on her hands and swallowed hard. "I uh…actually have you told you this already, but you didn't hear me. There was static. Or maybe you didn't want to hear it. And I've been scared, and been wondering if you are too, and what that means for us. I've never said this to any other woman. I've never felt this deeply this quickly, and I just-"

"Barry?" she interjected, and he took a deep breath, exhaling with a smile.

"I love you, Iris."

Her eyes went wide, her heart beating a mile a minute.

"I'm in love with you," he emphasized. "And it's okay if you don't feel the same way. I just wanted you to kno-"

"I love you, too!"

His eyes went wide as saucers at her urgency.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. _Yes_. Of course, yes! I was talking about you downstairs. Who else could I be talking about?"

Amidst tears, she leapt into his arms again and kissed him madly.

"I love you. I love you. I love you."

He shivered in her arms, feeling more at peace and jubilant than he had in his entire life. Like he'd finally come home.

"I love you."


	15. Chapter 15

***** I own nothing. No copyright infringement intended.

 ***** Many thanks to **sendtherain** for beta'ing.

* * *

 **Chapter 15 -**

The intense love in their eyes could only be matched by the heat that resided there soon after. It had been two weeks, and they'd never ached for something as desperately as they did for the feeling of their hands and mouths on each other. In fact, were it not for the chilly air up there on the Jitters' rooftop, they probably would've gone at it, using only their clothing for cushioning against the cement roof and as cover when they were finished.

But since it _was_ chilly, they raced down the stairs as fast as they could, and to Iris' surprise, a limo was waiting for them. Barry was grinning like a child in a candy shop when she turned to look at him, and she couldn't help but giggle. She shook her head and smiled as he pulled her to the vehicle.

"Mr. Allen," the driver greeted, tipping his hat.

"Thank you, Tom," Barry said, popping his head in for a moment before assisting Iris into the backseat of the limo. "This is Iris West."

"Ms. West." Tom tipped his hat again. "How'd you end up with this ol' rascal?"

Barry blushed and cleared his throat.

"We'd uh… like some privacy, if you don't mind, sir."

"Right away, Mr. Allen."

The partition went up and Barry shut the limo door behind him.

"Sorry about that," Barry said, still blushing. "He's a real jokester, that one." He couldn't look at her.

"Barry," she deadpanned, and he made himself look.

"You got us a limo!"

He chuckled and ran his hand over the back of his head.

"Yeah, I guess I did."

"And you have your own personal driver?"

"Only for special occasions," he was quick to say.

"Oh." Her look turned sensual again. "This is a special occasion, huh?"

He smirked, his blush disappearing as he reached across the way and spread his hand across her tight-covered thigh with a gentle squeeze.

" _Very_ special," he assured, his voice gone gravelly and low.

She swung her calves over onto his lap and pulled him toward her with her fingers clenched in the collar of his shirt.

"And how long do I get you for?" she asked, an inch or so before their lips touched.

He pressed his forehead against hers and murmured softly.

"Let's not ruin the moment by talking timeframes. We have tonight. That's all that matters."

Her fingers clenched into the fabric tighter.

"Tell me," she insisted. "Tell me we have more than tonight."

He sighed and cupped her face with one hand.

"I have twenty-four hours with you," he said. "Then I have to go."

Her eyes widened. "Back overseas?"

"No," he allowed. "But I have work to do, Iris, and I can't afford to let myself get distracted like I did last time."

Guilt settled in her chest.

"Did you almost lose your job because of me?"

"Because I couldn't keep my hands off of you, you mean?" He nuzzled her nose.

" _Barry_."

"It was my choice, Iris. I wanted you the second I saw you. Nothing was going to keep me away."

Her heart did a flip, and she bit her bottom lip.

"But you almost did?"

He sighed. "I didn't," he promised her. "They need me too badly to let me go over a distracted mission."

The word slipped out so easily, both their eyes widened at the same time.

"Ohh, mission? Are you a _spy_?" she teased.

He rolled his eyes. "Iris."

"Well, you just called it a mission!"

He resorted to tickling her.

"Stop! No, Barry! Barry, stop!"

She couldn't stop laughing, and her legs were swinging wildly. Finally, he ceased, and the moment stilled. Iris could hardly breathe. The green of his eyes was so deep she could drown in it.

"Barry, I-"

The car came to a stop.

She frowned, and Barry turned toward the front seat. He knocked on the partition, which lowered about an inch or so.

"Just a stoplight, sir."

"Thanks, Tom."

The partition went back up and Barry settled himself back beside Iris.

"How many girls have you had back here, Barry?" she teased, but it was obvious an insecure part of her needed to know.

He held in another sigh, because how could he explain how different his life had been before she walked into it?

He cupped her cheek and looked adoringly into her riveting brown eyes.

"None that mattered."

She reached up and pulled him down to her, nothing holding her back from the fierce passion building between them. Barry's arm wrapped around her back, and he brought her onto his lap. Iris pulled up her skirt some and straddled him, forcing his hands to go from the small of her back to her ass. She bit at his bottom lip and started to unbutton his shirt, pulling it free of his pants.

"Oh, my God, _Iris_."

His eyes rolled to the back of his head, and all he could do was grip her curves tighter as she started to grind against him, hardening his cock effortlessly and driving him absolutely out of his mind.

His breathing quickened, and his head tipped back. Iris took quick advantage by deepening the movements of her rolling hips and latching her lips onto the long column of his neck.

"I've wanted this…for so long…" She gasped when his fingers dipped into the crevice between her ass cheeks.

"I was only gone two weeks," he protested but did nothing to stop her.

"That's 14 days," she murmured between kisses dangerously approaching hickey territory. "Fourteen days is a _very_ long time."

He growled and pinned her to the seat.

"You'll be the death of me, woman."

She smiled and let his mouth consume her. He lifted her calf over his hip and squeezed her thigh. He kissed her deep and hard, tongue tangling with hers, moans increasing in volume when she arched up against him, pushing his shirt over his shoulders. Her nails dragged lightly down his solid chest, dipping into each ab when she came to it, then wrapping around and cupping his ass to pull him still closer, so she could feel him – _really_ feel him.

"Jesus Christ."

The car stopped again. This time it turned off.

Breathing heavily, Barry reluctantly lifted his head and turned toward the partition.

"We're here, sir," Tom said, and Barry nodded his head, though the couple inches of partition lowered made it impossible to see from the front seat.

"Thank you, Tom. We'll be ready in a minute."

The partition closed, and Barry started to sit up.

"Where are you going?" Iris asked, clearly disappointed at the prospect of not being able to have sex in a limo.

He chuckled. " _We_ are going somewhere more comfortable. Deal?"

It took a minute, but finally she began to smile.

"Deal."

…

As if the hot and heavy make out session in the elevator hadn't been rough enough, they nearly ripped the door to their hotel room off its hinges when they burst through five minutes later, every limb wrapped around each other and lips attached as if they were made to be there. By the time they reached the bed, all their clothes were gone, and they were scooting up to the pillows, blankets discarded, and breathing heavily as if they just couldn't catch their breath.

Finally, Barry took a moment, just one moment, to slow things down between them. He hovered over her, propped up by his hands on the bed, and lowered his head for one sweet, soft kiss. Then he lifted up ever so slightly, looked into her pretty eyes, completely enraptured, and spoke the words she would never get enough of.

"I love you."

Her heart melted, and her hand reached up to caress his face.

"I love you, too."

He smiled for a moment and then groaned, descending instantly to capture her lips again and push her legs apart. He was inside her in seconds, fucking her hard and fast like it had been forever since they'd been together like this.

In a way, it was. It felt like forever. Two weeks felt like forever. How the hell was he going to go on existing without her if two weeks felt like more than a lifetime?

"You feel so good," he grunted, thrusting faster. "So fucking good, Iris."

"You too," she said, digging her nails into his back and wrapping her legs tighter around his waist. "God, you feel amazing."

Barry's head fell into the mattress, as he angled her body upward. He was sweating excessively, making it hard for Iris to hold on. She pressed her head back into the pillow and held him tighter, gasping for air as she arched up against him. Every inch of each other pressed against the other, hearts beating wildly, hair in disarray. Neither had ever felt so alive.

Iris moaned loudly, nearly on the brink, and took Barry off guard by flipping them over. His shock faded quickly though as he raised himself up and ravished her breasts with his mouth, flicking one nipple and then the other with his tongue, kneading them greedily with his hands, then wrapping his arms around her as he tilted his head up to kiss her, surrounded by her beautifully frizzy drapes of dark locks.

Then she started to move.

Slow at first, urged on by Barry's loose embrace, and then faster when his hands caught hold of her hips, and he pulled her to him again and again. Her head ducked into his neck as their lower parts sped up. She kissed his skin and murmured his name, and never, ever wanted this to end.

Barry fell back onto the mattress and Iris leaned back, propping her hands on his thighs, her breasts high in the air and her head fallen backwards with her mouth opened in ecstasy, moaning for more and how good it was and how she could never get enough.

Barry was enraptured by the sight of her. How beautiful, how erotic, how perfect for him she was. He even let her slow the pace down to really grind against him, really feel his cock throbbing inside her core, and how hard it was, how wet she was wrapped around it. God, it was intoxicating.

"More, more," she whined, and he pulled her down on top of him, propping his knees up so he could fucker at that higher angle again. " _Barryyy_ ," she groaned. It was too much, but not enough.

"Here," he ordered roughly, trying to keep his head from spinning out of control. "Up here."

He lifted her off his cock and pushed her up his body, holding her ass steady just above his face. Once she realized what he was about to do, her eyes widened.

"Barry," she cautioned.

"Don't be nervous," he whispered hotly against her soaking folds, and she could hardly be nervous after that. His voice practically vibrated throughout her entire being.

She clutched her hands at the top of the bed frame as best she could with it being wood and her hands so sweaty. She pressed her head to the wall and wriggled beneath him as he explored her core, swallowing her juices and swirling his tongue around her clit until she was driven insane.

Finally, she cried out, screamed, couldn't stand it any longer, and released the best orgasm against his lips she could remember having in a long time.

He licked his lips, allowed her to fall back, her limbs like jelly and completely at his mercy.

Her head now at the far end of the bed, he moved closer, and kneeling started to jerk himself off, thoroughly turned on by the sight of her lazily rubbing her clit as she watched him.

"Don't you want to come inside me?" she asked, and it was obviously intended to be innocent, but it was so raspy and worn that it came across seductive, and he came at the mere thought of what she suggested.

Then he fell down beside her and draped his arm over her torso, cupping one breast as he laid his head on the other.

"Next time," he promised. "You have my word."

Exhausted beyond recognition, Iris lazily played with his hair for a while and then fell asleep.

…

It was pitch black out by the time the two were roused from their sleep. Or rather, until Iris was brought back to consciousness. Barry had been awake for about half an hour before she opened her eyes, just watching her sleep, watching her chest rise and fall with each breath, content and smug that her limbs were wrapped around his.

He had no intention of moving unless she wanted to or unless she needed something, but now she was awake, and he was prepared to do whatever she asked of him.

"What?" she asked sleepily, with a smile that could've melted a thousand suns.

He shook his head, a bright smile on his face.

"Nothing," he said.

"No, tell me," she urged, pushing at him a little.

He chuckled a little and then sobered up.

"You're just really beautiful, Iris." He leaned down and nuzzled her nose. "I'm so lucky to have you."

She moaned appreciatively, then wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down for a wake-up kiss.

"I'm lucky to have you too."

He smirked.

"Did you ever think you'd be the one to say that? Looking back?"

She laughed. "No. Never."

He frowned.

"But I'm glad I am now. I know it's only been two weeks, but it feels like…we were meant to be together somehow. You know?" She bit her lip when he was silent for a while. "Or…not. Maybe we're not. I don't want to scare you off or anything." She laughed nervously.

"You're not scaring me off," he said, then lay down beside her again. "I've just never had anyone say that they needed me before, that we were meant to be together." He sighed contently. "I feel the same way."

She smiled as he lay his head back down, and she started to twist her fingers through his hair again. She pulled his arm over her stomach, and it settled on her side. He kissed the skin of her breast tenderly, feeling the warmth of it soothe and exhilarate him.

For hours it seemed they lay together doing nothing but softly caressing the other, laying intertwined, not wanting to move or do anything but simply be.

They didn't say any more words, but there was no reason to. In this room with the door locked and the window drapes closed, they were alone with each other and away from every person that tried to part them, either intentionally or not.

This was the place Barry had longed to reach with her since the moment he laid eyes on her. He didn't know he had craved such intimacy until now, but in retrospect he could see that he had. There was something about her he wanted to keep forever. He didn't want a one-night stand. He didn't want a fling. He didn't want her as part of a case. He just wanted her. And he wanted her to want him.

And he knew beyond the shadow of a doubt, as impossible as it seemed when looking at his life and all the walls he'd built up before she walked into it, that she was the one.


	16. Chapter 16

***** Many thanks to **sendtherain** for beta'ing.

 ***** I own nothing. No copyright infringement intended.

* * *

 **Chapter 16 -**

Sun filtering in through the slightly parted drapes of the large window woke Iris from her contented sleep at around 9am the following morning. After she accepted the fact that she'd be staying awake rather than drifting back into the best sleep she'd had in a long time, she turned to the other side of the bed and frowned when she saw Barry wasn't there beside her.

She stretched her arm just to make sure her eyes weren't playing tricks on her, but the only evidence that he'd been there was the indentations on the pillow and mattress.

That was, of course, until she looked up and saw a figure likely belonging to him standing in the doorway wrapped in a white bath robe talking to a man standing in the hallway. When she saw the silver cart of delicious breakfast assortments sitting just inside the door, she put two and two together and concluded he was tipping the room service staff.

"Thanks again," Barry said with a nod and turned around after shutting the door.

"You know," Iris said, making him jump a little when he realized she'd been awake. She bit her bottom lip and stifled a giggle. "I never thought a man in a bathrobe would be such a turn-on, but…" She gave him a once-over. "Look at you, changing my mind."

Barry's grin was sexy as hell; her heart raced.

"I'm sure it's the food," he said, wheeling the cart over to her side of the bed.

She licked her lips and eyed all that was before her.

"I think I might want it all," she said honestly.

Barry laughed.

"Well, that's all right. I'll just eat you up then instead," he said, sidling close to her on the bed and kissing her shoulder.

She looked at him and felt the lust growing in her but tried to shrug it off.

"No, we'll have none of that," she said, nonchalantly as she reached for a plate of pancakes.

He pouted. "I thought you just said me in a robe was a turn-on."

"Oh, it is, but-"

"Aren't you getting wet?" he murmured in her ear.

"Getting wetter by the second," she mumbled to herself, but of course he heard it.

He reached across the almost nonexistent space between them and cupped one sheet-covered breast in his hand, thumbing his way across the nipple gently as he started to kiss his way across her collarbone.

"No, no, no, no, no!" She tried to inch herself away, but with a tray of food on her lap and the cart of remaining food to her right, it was near impossible. When he reached her neck, she practically purred.

"Okay, okay," she said, her eyes closed and lips parted in pleasure.

"Yeah?" he grinned, proud of his victory.

"Pancakes or waffles?"

He blinked. "Huh?"

She opened one eye to look at him.

"Do you want pancakes or waffles?"

Dejected, he leaned back on the bed frame. He hadn't won after all.

Though, reluctantly he had to admit that he was starving for actual food and not just the juices his girlfriend's body produced.

He grinned suddenly, pleased to be about to take her off guard again.

"What?" she asked, her lips twitching in a smile.

"French toast and orange juice, please."

She laughed, her eyes twinkling, but she retrieved the requested for items.

"You're something else, Barry Allen."

"Something good?" he teased, taking the items from her.

She softened and looked sincerely into his eyes.

"Something wonderful."

He smiled, leaned forward, and with the purest intentions he'd had in the last five minutes, sweetly kissed her on the lips before returning to his breakfast.

…

After breakfast, Iris peeled herself off her side of the bed, taking the sheets with her to cover the front of her body, and leaving – she realized belatedly – her backside entirely to Barry's view. He followed her with his eyes, and she felt it. Felt his gaze burning into her back, her ass, her legs.

"I'm going to take a shower," she said, determined to make it to the bathroom without him pouncing on her. _As if that would be such a bad thing_. Her inner self rolled its eyes.

As predicted, she was slightly disappointed he hadn't come between her and the door but figured her bladder would thank her later. However, as soon as she'd washed her hands and then turned on the shower, she felt a slight chill on her backside and turned to see Barry inside the bathroom with her.

"I didn't even hear the door open," was all she could think of to say.

He smirked and walked towards her slowly.

"I'm sneaky like that." She put her hand on his chest to stop him. "Quiet as a mouse," he whispered.

She looked at him, unabashedly smiling.

"You're actually quite loud."

His mouth dropped.

"Says the one who came screaming last night."

She scoffed. "Will you always hold that against me?"

He smirked, took her hand on his chest and placed it around his neck instead.

"Oh, yeah."

And then they were moving as one, backing into the shower. Or so Iris thought.

"Shower's the other way, baby," she said between kisses, almost feverish with the intensity of them.

He'd never been kissed like this before, he thought. And he'd been kissed a _lot_.

Maybe it was because he was in love, and she was in love with him. Maybe that just made every action between them a thousand times better.

God, he couldn't wait to make love to her.

"We're not going to the shower," he mumbled into her mouth.

"We're not?" The confusion in her voice didn't keep her from kissing him. "I should turn it off then."

Barry pulled away momentarily and shut it off for her.

"Such a gentleman," she said, batting her eyelashes before asking, "Where are we going?"

He nodded to the bath-sized whirlpool next to the shower, and she gasped softly, having not really even registered it before.

"Is that- wait a minute." She frowned.

"You can't wait to do it in there, and you know it."

Her jaw dropped. "I-"

He turned on the water. She didn't stop him. When it was filled nearly to the top, Barry turned on the jets and helped her step inside. Then he settled himself on the built-in seat and pulled her to him. Slowly, she lowered herself on his very ready erection and moaned at the contact of water around and in her as well as his hard cock.

"We are going to get water all over the floor," she said, as she started moving up and down slowly.

He smirked and pulled her down for another steamy kiss.

"It's okay. I'll pay the bill."

She moaned and gave herself over to the pleasure he offered.

"I love you so damn much," she muttered, rising and falling faster by the second.

"Oh, _fuck_ ," he whispered, holding onto her hips to steady her. "Fuck, that feels good. I love you, too."

The water slapped against them and spilled over the side. Barry would definitely be getting a high-priced bill later for the water damage done to the room below them where thankfully no one had been staying, but it was worth it, he decided. It was all worth it.

…

After making in love in the whirlpool, they were exhausted but decided taking a shower was probably in the best interest of both of them. So, they did, then dressed themselves and decided to take a walk on a pleasantly warm day in the city.

Their fingers intertwined and swaying slightly, Iris couldn't ever remember being so happy. She turned to look at him every so often to see if he was feeling the same thing she was. She couldn't tell, but she hoped he was. She couldn't imagine him not. They'd been so in sync since he'd showed up unexpectedly early the day before. There was only one thing that might break the spell, and she wasn't going to bring it up. That was on him now.

"What?" he asked, a twitch to his lips, and she knew he'd caught her staring. She was glad he couldn't see her blush.

"I'm just really happy," she said, and he softened.

"I'm really happy too." He brought their hands to his lips and kissed the back of hers.

"Should we go somewhere or just…walk into oblivion?"

"Oblivion, wow, that sounds intense."

She jabbed him with her elbow, and he laughed.

"Well, it does!" he defended.

She rolled her eyes, and he pulled her to his side, hugging her with a quick peck to her forehead.

"I love you," he said, then pulled back to look into her shining eyes.

"You keep saying that," she pointed out. "Are you afraid I don't believe you?"

He shrugged. "I say it because I want to, because it's true, and…" He licked his lips. "Because I don't want to forget what you look like whenever I tell you."

"Barry."

"I don't want to forget anything about you."

She turned completely towards him.

"You're not going to forget me. Just like I'm never going to forget you. We're meant to be together, remember? No matter how…unlikely that seemed at our first meeting."

His laugh was strained.

"You have to go soon, don't you?" she asked, breaking her promise with herself.

He nodded. "In two hours."

Her heart dropped. _Two hours_. She swallowed hard.

"Well, two hours is better than five minutes, right?"

He laughed again; this time it was less pained.

"It's definitely better than five minutes."

He kissed her again and again and again, until someone in a passing car whistled at them from the street. They parted, and Barry leaned his forehead against hers.

"I miss you already."

She felt a teardrop hit her cheek and knew it had come from him.

"Barry…" She soothed. "I'm right here."

He gulped.

"Here." She pulled back and tugged at his hand. "Come with me."

…

They were at the lakefront within half an hour. The sight stole Barry's breath, which surprised him, since he'd been all over the world and seen far more majestic views than this. He'd never really stopped to look though. It had always been part of a mission. This had nothing to do with a mission. This view entirely connected to his love for Iris. He would never forget it, and it would always make him think of her.

"It's beautiful, right?" Her voice interrupted his thoughts.

He nodded, then looked at her.

"You're beautiful."

She smiled, then took both her hands in his and faced him.

"You're not so bad either," she teased, but he remained serious.

"Iris… Will you marry me?"

Her eyes widened, and she dropped their hands.

"I… _what_?"

He grabbed her hands before she could back away.

"Look, I know it's too soon. We've only known each other for three weeks and seen each other for half that time. I don't have a ring. I haven't met your parents. And you don't know anything about my job, because I have trust issues, and I want to keep that part of my life separate from us. At least for right now. But…" He licked his lips. "Nothing has ever felt more real to me than you, than us. And I…I need some reassurance that you're not going anywhere every time I have to leave. You're such a catch, Iris. Any guy would be lucky to have you. And I-"

She squeezed his hands and used the momentum it took to go up on her tiptoes and kiss him.

"I'm not going anywhere, Barry Allen." She sank back onto her feet. "You have to trust me on that or this thing between us will never last."

He gulped, the last three words stuck in his brain on repeat.

She reached up to cup his face in her hands.

"But I believe it will. I don't need a ring on my finger to know that no one else will ever take your place when you're away. Just like I don't need to worry about you wandering."

"You don't," he said. "I would never."

She nodded and smiled. "Good."

"So…you won't marry me?" he asked, a little crushed.

She looped her arm through his as they started to walk again, and smirked.

"I didn't say that." Her eyes twinkled when she looked at him. "Ask me again sometime, and I'll give you my answer."

His heart beat faster.

"You're amazing, Iris."

She smiled. "Right back at ya, Barry Allen."

Overjoyed and feeling more loved than he ever felt possible, Barry held Iris tight and allowed her to take him on her little tour of the lakefront. By the time they reached the hotel again, they would hardly have any time left, but they made the most of their little Heaven, because God knows when they would see each other again.


End file.
